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Kaelin Choto Correspondent

THEY say lies have short legs, but for self-proclaimed philanthropist and CCC activist, Susan Mutami, they certainly did not move an inch.

The Australian-based activist was all over social media making baseless attacks on President Mnangagwa and others in a bid to cast aspersions on their standing.

Mutami literally rallied women organisations behind her slew of false accusations.

She trended on social media and took it by storm despite the inconsistency of her narrations.

A closer look at Mutami the person will tell you that she is not much of an influencer than she would like to claim.

Most of the said donations she made or has made have no digital footprints, neither have they been reported by any of the local papers.

They are literally of her making and only she tells their story. Could she be running agents in her philanthropy works so that they donate on her behalf?

Certainly not, Susan is undeniably affectionate about the limelight and grandstanding. That is not a secret given her charade against President Mnangagwa and other high profile individuals.

How did Susan pull the limelight?

Twitter was Mutami’s major medium through which she propagated her false story. She held Twitter space discussions running for over an hour.

It is these Twitter spaces that exposed her as not running alone, but being a project engineered to push a very sinister agenda.

American politicians, including US Republican Senate candidate for Kansas, Michael Soetaert, endured Mutami’s hour long exposé despite it being held in Shona.

She also enjoyed the listenership of Western journalists including Laura Studarus, The Telegraph’s Sophie Tanno and Jason Hirschhorn.

All of these scribes cannot speak Shona, but they endured the hour plus long Twitter space discussions by Mutami.

How American politicians and journalists developed keen interest in these Shona Twitter spaces still boggles the mind.

Back home, a corresponding clamour from opposition activists amplified Mutami’s melodramatic narrations.

Remember, Mutami had not presented even an iota of evidence to sustain her accusations, but everyone at CCC was running with her side of the story.

As the days, hours and seconds ticked towards the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Mutami pulled another sensational claim.

“I have been invited to UNGA to share my ordeal,” she claimed.

The self proclaimed philanthropist was relentless in her quest and was adamant that she had the evidence.

What evidence could Mutami possibly hold back until UNGA? What forum would have possibly accorded her the platform.

All these questions rat-raced in the minds of politically-sober individuals.

Enter UNGA 2022 Summit, the CCC had made her key speaker at a supposed anti-Zimbabwe demonstration at the Summit.

The whole picture now plays out in the open. This was one of those protracted attempts to soil and smear the image of Zimbabwe and that of Government.

The demonstration by CCC was, however, to be a damp squib with revelations that the party’s deputy spokesperson, Gift Siziba, misappropriated funds set aside to hire crowds that would protest outside the venue of the Summit.

Susan, on the other side, never showed face at UNGA.

Her accusations were never heard too. So what was this all about?

Ladies and gentlemen, we have an opposition that still believes in sabotage as the ultimate tool to deploy in political contest.

They are banking on the misery of you and me to make political statements.

Siziba and Fadzai Mahere were in New York, basically to drum up more misery for our nation.

Could the entirety of SADC leaders be wrong to rally behind the lifting of the illegal economic sanctions against Zimbabwe?

Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi, President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, Malawi’s Lazarus Chakwera, to mention, but a few African leaders, all spoke about the misery that the economic sanctions have brought on Zimbabwe and the region.

Conversely, the Government should expedite the enactment of the Patriotic Act and tame this unnecessary and illegal mudslinging by individuals such as Mutami.

Zimbabwe deserves better and is doing well of late through infrastructure development and re-industrialisation by the Second Republic under the stewardship of President Mnangagwa.

We don’t need the negative energy.