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See, the First Lady does not shy away from naming names but she may give enough time before she names and shames. We saw that last year as she warned Mai Mujuru before taking off her gloves. Tomana and other unlucky fellows will not like the affair to go that far, one can be sure of it.

The reader may already have heard and read mighty America openly criticising its charges here over the decision by the opposition to boycott elections.

But, hold on there!

There are many things we have just learnt from Mr Gregory Simpkins, who is a director in the Sub-committee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organisations.

He is also black, by the way.

For the record, here is him speaking:

“We have heard that political parties here argue that it is tough to compete in elections. But we are saying they have to find a way of being effective rather than just saying it is too tough to compete. How can you criticise a process that you are not part of, one cannot criticise a process that they have not even taken time to test … If you are not a part of it at all then it is as good as there is no opposition.”

He also said: “When we lose, we do not take to the streets; we do not always go to the courts” and that, “We do not get angry but we go back, consider what happened and prepare for the next election; and that is what you have to do.”

There is close to half a dozen things to learn from these statements for all discerning minds.

First, Uncle Sam has finally seen the lack of wisdom in the MDC-T and, in particular, the decision to boycott June 10 by- elections – and this is self-evident.

Second, Uncle Sam acknowledges that the MDC lost the last elections of July 2013.

Third, and connected to the above, Uncle Sam believes that the opposition did not take the loss positively and constructively as they do in the US.

Fourth, the US does not see any contingency in the MDC-T, which, in the absence of any effective strategy, is as good as no opposition at all.

Essentially, the US regrets that the opposition has failed.

The fifth and most important thing to learn from the Uncle Tom called Simpkins who delivered Uncle Sam’s message is that they are in serious doubt of the capacity of the leader of MDC-T, Morgan Tsvangirai.

He hints that it may be time for poor Morgan to leave the scene and pave way for someone else: but this is a hard choice.

“Success by political parties is not built on personalities,” says Simpkins.

“However, when you start a political party in a country that is relatively new, very often the personalities override the ideology of the party; people vote for the person, ethnic groups and people who they think serve their interests . . . It takes time for people to realise that it is not all about me, it is about the people.”

If Tsvangirai has ears, indeed has eyes to read, even with his education, the message is clear enough.

In the eyes of the Americans, he is done.

It will be interesting to watch the following days unfolding.

By the way, we hear Americans are now in the habit of coming here themselves so that they can get first-hand information on their regime change pet.

Local fifth columnists have proved to be, apart from being eternally enamoured of Tsvangirai, ineffective.

And costly, too.

Amazing Grace

In Zimbabwe there can only be one Amazing Grace, and that is the First Lady, Dr Amai Grace Mugabe, who this week came back into the political limelight following a couple of months’ absence.

The way the media received her back tells us that she is something of an elixir in the body politic.

She shakes it and she changes the complexion of the game.

Does that need any more validation after what we saw last year as she exposed former Vice President Joice Mujuru for the putschist that we now know her for and for which she is in the deserved cold outside zanu-pf?

This week we had her in her full element, and unlucky was poor Johannes Tomana, who she did not name but whom anybody with ears would know was the subject of her censure.

See, the First Lady does not shy away from naming names but she may give enough time before she names and shames.

We saw that last year as she warned Mai Mujuru before taking off her gloves.

Tomana and other unlucky fellows will not like the affair to go that far, one can be sure of it.

Petty, petty oposition

For all there is to know, Dr Amai is a forceful politician; that is her brand of politics.

What we fail to understand is the unfounded hysteria that the lunatic fringe seeks to create around her political ac- tivities.

We are now told she is the de facto President of the Republic, that she has usurped President Mugabe’s powers, that she has, according to Luke Tamborinyoka, staged a “pillow

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Not what the American doctor ordered

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d’etat” blah blah blah.

But you know this is nonsense.

Who doesn’t know that there is one man, and only one man and one centre of power in this country?

For the avoidance of doubt, that man is Robert Gabriel Mugabe.

But some of the remarks by the lunatic fringe are good for their darkly comic value.

Here is Luke: “We now have a two-fold crisis of legitimacy in the country. Not only did (President) Mugabe steal a mandate in 2013 [Mr Simpkins disagrees], but that mandate has also been stolen from him by his wife. A few months ago, Jabulani Sibanda spoke of a bedroom coup and Zimbabweans thought it was a laughing matter . . . (President) Mugabe should resign on account of dereliction of duty, even though that duty was stolen in the first place.”

Oh, come on!

So much for democrats who fail to win power by democratic means and now want to use silly backdoor contrivances!

Jacob Mafume is not to be outdone: “Power has been transferred unconstitutionally to the wife of the President. It appears, like the French queens of old, she is instituting her own version of terror in the country.”

And “South Africa-based [since when?] analyst” Blessing Vava says President Mugabe is now a leader in name only.

All this would have been funny if it did not mean that we have a completely petty opposition that ill serves everybody, including itself.