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Nicole Hondo Correspondent
As a trained journalist, I could not help but feel a deep revulsion as I read an article authored by one Blessed Mhlanga in one of the daily newspapers titled “Mbizo Stadium disaster shows levels of desperation in Zimbabwe”. In it, the author callously tries to use the horrific and regrettable deaths of 11 people at a PHD Ministries church gathering in Kwekwe as an opportunity to rant against Government.

Seeking to deviate from the national stance of mourning the deceased and according them the dignity any person deserves in death, Mhlanga uses the deaths of these poor souls as a tool to attack Government, blaming it for an act of God.

For his opportunistic crusade against Government, Mhlanga roped in Mbizo MP Settlement Chikwinya and the two sing a discordant and shameful tune.

While we understand the need for Mhlanga to sing for his supper and randomly criticise the Zimbabwean Government, he should learn to separate fact from his own rabid hatred of Zanu PF and blasphemous inclinations.

His attempt to use a fellow human being’s tragedy as a springboard for his journalism career is not only disgusting, heartless but also a shame to the journalism fraternity.

By all means, he should disregard all the ethics of journalism when he is reporting on political issues, as he has proved fond of doing, no one can really begrudge him that, given the political climate currently obtaining.

It is when an individual who claims to be a member of the noble and esteemed profession of journalism shows a total lack of empathy and humanity, that any other journalist with a single bone of ubuntu in his/her body gets offended.

In the article, Mhlanga quotes an equally unfeeling Chikwinya, who claimed that the Kwekwe disaster would not have happened if the Government had not failed its people.

What hogwash!

Not only does Chikwinya try to blasphemously play God, his remarks reveal the depth to which he is willing to sink to score cheap political points.

Testimony of his vulture-like tendencies, Chikwinya abused a sombre and painful event to demonstrate his limited grasp of how the world works.

He claimed that the mere fact that an estimated 30 000 people from all walks of life braved the Thursday night to congregate in a 9 000 seater stadium to seek divine intervention on issues of socio-economic matters proves the desperation of the country.

“Instead of applying for jobs or simply walking into a hospital to seek medical treatment, Zimbabweans have been forced to desperate levels where they seek anointing oils just to squeeze themselves into the slim job market,” said Chikwinya.

His statements demonstrate the urgent need to rationally evaluate the mental capabilities of our legislators before we vote them into office.

In a clear case of journalism gone to the dogs, Blessed Mhlanga heartily concurred with Chikwinya parroting, “instead of going to hospital to seek medical attention and corrective surgery which most poor Zimbabweans can ill-afford, they have turned to the Word and Faith.

“Government hospitals which are supposed to be affordable to the poor have been run down and lack basic medical equipment and medicines. This has left many people at the mercy of these so-called prophets who claim to possess healing powers.”

First and foremost, I do not find anything to pity about people believing in prophets or any religion of their choice. Why should a person who is seeking to strengthen his spiritual life be described as being at the “mercy” of the prophets?

What divining powers do Chikwinya and Mhlanga possess that enable them to brand Walter Magaya and others as fake prophets? I am not defending Magaya’s claim of prophetic anointing.

I will leave the confirmation or disputing of such to God, as Mhlanga and Chikwinya should, as they, like me, possess no spiritual eye.

It is also narrow-minded and a demonstrated allergy to common sense for Chikwinya and by extension, Mhlanga to claim that the large following that Walter Magaya and other Zimbabwean prophets command is indicative of a poorly performing economy and bad governance.

Let us briefly look at one of the world’s superpowers, the United States of America. The country is widely acknowledged as the “big brother” of the world, with its currency determining the rise and fall of its siblings.

The United States of America is one of the world’s largest national economy, representing 22.4 percent of nominal global GDP and 16.6 percent of global GDP (PPP) .

The United States’ GDP was estimated to be $17.535 trillion as of early 2014.

The US dollar is the currency most used in international transactions and is the world’s foremost reserve currency.

Several countries use it as their official currency, and in many others it is the de facto currency.

The United States has a mixed economy and has maintained a stable overall GDP growth rate, a moderate unemployment rate, and high levels of research and capital investment .

The US has abundant natural resources, a well-developed infrastructure, and high productivity. Americans have the highest average household and employee income among OECD nations, and in 2010 had the fourth highest median household income, down from second highest in 2007.

In direct contrast to Chikwinya and his endorser, Mhlanga’s claims, USA is home to a large number of prophets among them; Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen and TD Jakes to mention a few.

These prophets attract huge numbers of people, numbers that the likes of Magaya and Makandiwa are still dreaming of as they border on millions in some instances.

How then does Chikwinya explain this phenomenon in the United States, Britain and other developed countries?

My example, one of many which I cannot exhaust on this platform, shows that Chikwinya’s allegations hold no water and should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve.

What should have been a consoling article for the families who lost their lives was turned into a jumbled rhetoric against Government.

In Mhlanga’s eyes, prophets such as Walter Magaya and the Government are one and the same evil monster.

“Just like the poor souls lost at Mbizo stadium, our Government was tricked by an unsophisticated lady who watched Mugabe’s Government swallow her ruse hook line and sinker in the sands of desperation,” he gleefully claims.

What a shame.

Perhaps having run out of angles from which to launch his vitriolic anti-Government sentiments, Mhlanga chose this despicable one instead.

The author can be contacted on:

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