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Lovemore Ranga Mataire Senior Writer—

Self-appointed political pundits found something to munch about when Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa appeared on a picture on social media holding a mug inscribed “I am the Boss.”

The picture was posted by one Energy Mutodi, a shady character with a penchant for issuing vituperative statements against perceived foes.

It was probably the furore that ensued afterwards that must have compelled Vice President Mnangagwa to issue a scathing statement against those insinuating the picture validates allegations of a covert successionist agenda.

He also distanced himself from individuals who are in the habit of passing disparaging remarks against President Mugabe while masquerading as his avid supporters.

While in another country or another political environment, the mug inscription would not bear any political connotations, the same cannot be said of Zimbabwe where the revolutionary ZANU-PF party seems to be in perpetual combat against itself.

Yet if truth be said the “I am the Boss” inscription is just a storm in a tea cup that should never have been accorded so much space in the public discourse, especially when one takes into account the calibre of the individual behind the post on social media.

In a “normal” political environment, characters like Mutodi would not be taken seriously by any right-thinking citizen.

Mutodi and his ilk would be treated as mere political wannabes struggling on the fringes of political Siberia with nothing constructive expected from them given their unstable personalities leaning on the vile side.

Mutodi suits Benjamin Franklin’s observation that, “We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.”

His insipid and egregious character is not the sort of trait that qualifies one to be near a public microphone, more so a mainstream paper worth its salt.

But there we were, a whole nation swept in the storm of “I am the Boss” inscription.

Mutodi must have marvelled at how his tawdry life had suddenly provoked some sort of national attention.

It is primarily because of Mutodi’s sordid character and questionable psychological balance that the whole mug incident must never have been catapulted to a national issue worth anyone’s attention.

While the VP’s detractors interpreted or misinterpreted the picture as some kind of treasonous ploy and a vindication that he is conspiring to take over from President Mugabe, the allegation fails to stick when one examines the character of the one responsible for posting such a picture.

After trying his luck at music and later at politics, the controversial businessman also found the going tough in matters matrimony where his divorce in 2013 laid bare his despicable shenanigans.

It is important to note that some of his antics may be linked to his immaturity (Mutodi is just 38-years-old), but more importantly, it is difficult for one to dismiss the notion that the effects of a histrionic personality disorder may be taking a toll on him.

According to Dr Steve Bressert of the United States-based Psychcentral.com, the disease is characterised by a long-standing pattern of attention seeking behaviour and extreme emotionality. Someone with histrionic personality disorder wants to be the centre of attention in any group of people, and feels uncomfortable when they are not.

While often lively, interesting and sometimes dramatic, they have difficulty when people aren’t focused exclusively on them. People with this disorder may be perceived as being shallow, and may engage in sexually seductive or provocative behaviour to draw attention to themselves.

Dr Bressert says a pervasive pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, is indicated by five (or more) of the following:

Is uncomfortable in situations in which he or she is not the centre of attention

Interaction with others is often characterised by inappropriate sexually seductive or provocative behaviour

Displays rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotions

Consistently uses physical appearance to draw attention to themselves

Has a style of speech that is excessively impressionistic and lacking in detail

Shows self-dramatisation, theatricality, and exaggerated expression of emotion

Is highly suggestible, i.e., easily influenced by others or circumstances

Considers relationships to be more intimate than they actually are.

Far be it from me to question Mutodi’s mental state; the symptoms described above point to a very serious affliction that casts doubt on the integrity of an individual.

It is sad that on closer inspection, we are all forced to examine the essence of the mug inscription from a picture that could as well have been posted by someone suffering from a histrionic personality.

Because the matter is already in the public domain, by default we find ourselves engrossed on a mug examining the essence of the message inscribed on it.

In a desperate attempt to soil his image, the VP’s detractors went overboard to over-blow the symbolism of the inscription on the mug.

Yet for all we know the word Boss simply refers to the one who makes decisions and is in charge.

This can be his family, his clan, his farm or his business.

Have we as a people become so narrow-minded and petty that we are quick to attach political connotations to anything and everything that happens in our private social life?

At what point can a private social gathering be viewed simply as such? Is it not given that in most cases the people we spend most of our professional lives with may also be friends and may as well be guests at our private functions including funerals or weddings?

Our professional lives are always intertwined with our social interactions and it is within the VP’s right to interact with anyone outside national duties.

Could the furore created by the “mug” be an indication that the discord in the revolutionary party has moved from being mere contradictions to open antagonism?

There is clearly an urgent need for comrades within the party to exercise restraint and desist from issuing or posting inflammatory statements that disorient the general membership.

As articulated in The Herald’s comment of January 13, 2017, “the fact that someone has been expelled or suspended from ZANU-PF does not make them a mortal, permanent enemy.”

Indeed, there have been several cases of expelled comrades being rehabilitated back into the party after showing contrition.

A fence must be constructed around the VP’s magnanimous personality to shut out certain corrosive elements whose association is of no value to his status in society.