Biti's new political outfit: Another desperate stunt from a failed politician

Tendai Biti is back again, but instead of bringing something new or worthwhile to Zimbabwe's political landscape, he returns with yet another recycled and empty formation, now parading the once-insignificant pressure group Forum for Constitutional Protection (FCP) as a fully-fledged political party. This latest stunt is not a show of revival, strength, or strategy but it is a desperate move by a man who has run out of political relevance, credibility, and support.

Biti has built a career by making noise, not solutions. Ever since he emerged in the early 2000s as one of the loud voices in the MDC, he has been more focused on self-promotion and Western validation than genuine national progress. At every major turning point in Zimbabwe's post-independence politics, Biti has been on the wrong side of history. And now, with his name tainted, his record ridiculed, and his influence diminished, he clutches at straws by forming a political outfit no one believes in.

Biti's track record speaks for itself. As Minister of Finance during the inclusive Government, he proved to be more of a mouthpiece than a manager. His time in office brought more problems than progress. Civil servants went unpaid, and service delivery deteriorated while Biti gallivanted in Western capitals, boasting about austerity measures that crippled the common man. His economic approach served external interests more than it did local livelihoods. And when things fell apart, he simply moved on, blaming everyone but himself.

What followed was a decade of political jumping, scheming, and factional sabotage. In 2014, Biti famously broke away from the MDC-T, accusing Morgan Tsvangirai of dictatorship. But his breakaway party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), became a laughing stock. It failed to field candidates, failed to mobilise supporters, and failed to survive. Within a few years, it crumbled, leaving Biti with no base, no voice, and no structure.

Now, he returns again, rebranded and reassembled with the so-called FCP party. But what is FCP, really? A legitimate political movement? Hardly. It is a shell organisation made up of unknown political figures like Gwaranda and Gomba, names that have no history of activism, no connection with communities, and no known political contributions. This is not a fresh start but a recycled failure, fronted by faceless figures to create the illusion of structure. The public sees right through it.

No ideological foundation. No mass support. No clear strategy. Just a tired name, a few banners, and a team of opportunists willing to follow Biti into another dead end. If Biti believes that creating parties is leadership, then Zimbabweans must remind him: politics is about delivery, not deception.

Even Biti's own community no longer wants him. In Mabvuku, where he once walked tall, residents recently chased him from a funeral, chanting "traitor!" The message was clear: the people are tired of being used. Tired of broken promises. Tired of political actors who disappear after elections, only to return with new party names and the same old lies.

Adding insult to injury is Biti's recent conviction for verbal assault, a reminder of his increasingly erratic and arrogant behaviour. Once regarded as an intellectual, Biti has devolved into political has-been, making headlines for all the wrong reasons. His close cooperation with Zanu PF-aligned courts in recent months has raised even more suspicion among the few supporters he has left. Many now question whether he is still opposition at all or simply playing both sides to maintain access to power, privilege, and protection.

Worse still, Biti's entire career has been underpinned by foreign funding, not popular support. For years, he has survived on grants from the West, grants that were supposed to support democratic development but were instead squandered on failed campaigns, unexplained travel, and self-serving agendas, but that tap is running dry. The return of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency has seen Washington tighten its grip on foreign aid. Trump's administration has shown no interest in funding ineffective and unaccountable political projects in Africa, and Zimbabwe's opposition, led by figures like Biti is among the first to be cut off.

With Western support fading and local trust evaporated, Biti is now politically naked. His solution? Create another paper party, shout about "constitutionalism," and hope someone, somewhere, still takes him seriously. But the people have moved on. They've seen this act before. They know how it ends, a disappointment, finger-pointing, and retreat.

In the midst of this, Nelson Chamisa, another failed opposition figure is also trying to engineer a comeback. Instead of standing together, these two continue to compete for crumbs, forming factions and cannibalising what little remains of the opposition. Their egos are bigger than their contributions. Their hunger for leadership exceeds their ability to lead.

Together, Chamisa and Biti have turned opposition politics into a soap opera. Biti's FCP is just the latest manifestation of a hollow banner behind which nothing new stands.

The truth is simple, Tendai Biti has failed. He failed in office. He failed in opposition. He failed to unite. He failed to build. And now, he is failing to read the political temperature.