In a recent article published in The Herald, columnist @JAMWANDA2 referred to Saviour Kasukuwere, a presidential aspirant, as “the latter-day pretender to the crown.”
He said Kasukuwere’s entry into the political race has caused a stir on social media, but not in the work-a-day world where politics and politicians are made and unmade.
Jamwanda said the debate on social media is not about his chances but rather about whose vote he is likely to split, which seals and immortalizes his political fate as the nearly man of Zimbabwe’s political contest.
Jamwanda added that supporters in both the ruling party and opposition are angry with Kasukuwere, ironically for the same fears his ordained role seems to trigger. Jamwanda said:
He will eat into ED’s vote, a few impressionable ones in the ruling party opine; he will divide opposition vote thus undermining Chamisa, many in the opposition think and fear.
Between both camps is no Chinese wall! For both roles he needs no schizophrenia. Not even a gossamer veil!
The columnist’s view is that Kasukuwere’s significance and value hardly surpass a farthing (a former British coin, which was worth a quarter of a penny) and that no serious politician should waste time on him, any more than he does on himself.
Jamwanda says Kasukuwere’s forlorn hope is to gain significance by causing the authorities to wave a charge sheet in his face, allowing him to claim “negative capability” and join the ranks of US’s Oliver North of the CIA Contra Scandal in bragging about himself.
Saviour Kasukuwere, who is currently in self-exile, is said to still command a significant following in ZANU PF where he used to be a political commissar. He fled the country in 2017 after the ouster of former President Robert Mugabe, and was allegedly one of the leaders of the vanquished G40 faction.
Kasukuwere has indicated that he will be making an official statement on his candidature soon. He spoke to South African journalist Sophie Mokoena via his Twitter handle, confirming that he will be making a formal statement.