Desperation and despair turn Mnangagwa and comrades into a pathetic sorrowful sight!

In my book, there is nothing that robs a man of all his dignity and confidence as desperation and despair.

There is no sadder and more dismal sight than a man who is fully aware of the hopeless nature of his predicament - but, still persists in engaging in what are undeniably ridiculous and even degrading pursuits, all in the vain hope of some miracle of respite, or a spark of fading hope.

It is akin to watching a man caught in the act of cheating on his wife - possibly, right in bed with another woman - whose obviously furious and fed-up spouse, having had enough of the unrepentant philandering, cannot take the nonsense any more, and has made up her mind to leave him.

Yet, there he is, in a desperate, and clearly rather disturbing, attempt to woo her back, begging for her forgiveness, and grovelling like a hungry kitten - spends the entire day weeping, practically crawling on his knees as he follows her around the house like a puppy, and for the first time, even attends her church that he had all along been mocking as a bunch of brainwashed imbeciles (yet, now pushed into leading in the praise and worship, much to the utter bemusement of all in attendance)!

That is what happens when an individual is reduced to a state of despair - knowing how hopeless his situation has become!

What a sad, sad, dismal sight!

However, as much as the above illustration may only be an imaginary scene - in Zimbabwe, this is an all-too-common occurrence, especially when it comes to the ruling elite - who, being all too aware of how unpopular, reviled, and detested they have become in the eyes of the general populace, have resorted to the most incredulous, ludicrous, and desperate means of salvaging whatever remains of their goodwill.

To be quite frank, there is nothing more laughable, and even sorrowful, than the image of the President of the Republic, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, reduced to donning various garments of the numerous apostolic sects in the country - all in a pathetic attempt at rescuing the little that is left of his record-breaking rapidly waning support.

As a matter of fact, a survey by what the Zimbabwe state-media recently labelled 'reputable' pollsters Afrobarometer, reveled that Mnangagwa's public approval ratings spectacularly fell from 38 percent (in itself, not a particularly impressive figure) soon after the November 2017 military coup d'etat that catapulted him into power - after toppling long-time tyrant Robert Gabriel Mugabe - to a staggering 30 percent today.

With such terrible figures, who would not be in panic mode?

In fact, based on the same statistics by Afrobarometer, the main opposition similarly has absolutely no reason to beat their chests, or rest on their laurels - since they are not faring particularly well themselves.

Nonetheless, I am convinced that the thought of losing power is more traumatizing and terrifying, as compared to those in the opposition failing to gain power.

Why would there not be so much disenchantment and disappointment with the ruling establishment - when the only preoccupation for our leaders appears to be looting, on a grand scale, of our national resources, whilst at the same time implementing inconsistent and illogical economic policies - instead of attentively attending to the more pressing matter of uplifting the standards of livelihoods of the suffering and impoverished citizenry?

No wonder those in power are in such alarm and horror!

Nonetheless, like the husband who could not keep his pants on, and was caught red-handed by his wife in the act of adultery, who now demands immediate divorce - the ruling establishment now need to attend church organizations that, had all things been normal, they would have never set foot in, and possibly, would be at the forefront of pouring scorn on their members and their religious beliefs.

Yet, now that these entities carry with them hundreds of thousands of followers, we now have the indignity of watching our own leaders having to wear those long white (and, recently witnessed some in green, red, and other colours) robes, forced into a facade of humility (walking comically in slow motion, with arms folded), and  pretending to be prayerful and biblical.

Even in writing this, I cannot help falling into a fit of laughter!

Let me offer a piece of sound advice to our dear leaders - please, life would be much easier if you simply did what was expected of you in government.

Stop the corruption, pillaging and plundering of our national treasures.

Use our abundant resources primarily for the upliftment of the country's citizens - give workers their decent salaries, stabilize and strengthen the local currency, provide adequate affordable health care in our public institutions, empower the young generation with a vibrant education system and strong functional economy, and allow local authorities to operate freely, with enough capacity to deliver proper services.

Once that is accomplished - let us see if you will be driven by despair and desperation into sickening church-hopping, donning those robes, and sheepishly pandering to their leaders for votes.

- Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice activist, writer, researcher, and social commentator. Please feel free to contact him on WhatsApp/Call: +263715667700 / +263782283975, or Calls Only: +263788897936, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com