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On receiving news of the death of Zanu-PF’s National Political Commissar and Minister without Portfolio Cde Elliot Manyika on Sunday morning, my mind immediately recalled Oliver Mtukudzi’s reflective ditty, Tiri Mubindu, taken off his chart-topping album Nhava.
The song aptly captures human loss and how death tends to rob the best among us. Tuku likens human existence to a flower garden in which any flower that blooms and catches the eye of the gardener is quickly plucked off the stem instead of being left to beautify the garden.
These are the flowers we see either adorning the windows of flower shops, graves, homes and many other places and this week Cde Manyika will join his illustrious colleagues at the National Shrine, having been plucked in his prime.
The song goes in part:
Zvakafanana nemubindu reruva raoma unodiridzira,
Kufanana nemubindu reruva rasvava unosakurira,
Ruva rangoyevedza chete iwe kwachu watanha, wati nguva yakwana.
Rangoyevedza chete iwe dambu watanha,
Anopera rumwe-rumwe
Ruva rakanaka harirarame tinoritanha rangoyevedza,
Munhu akanaka haararame, anotama nenguva pfupi . . .
Well at 53, Cde Manyika was a revolutionary flower in full bloom, having risen through the ranks in Zanu-PF.
He was a party cadre as opposed to the money cadres who buy their way to influence. His constant refrain was “desist from vote-buying”.
Zanu-PF is indeed poorer without him.
Cde Manyika’s commitment to proper decorum is why he was entrusted with the duty of ensuring that Zanu-PF did not sleep on the job at this decisive stage of the struggle when the erstwhile enemy is gearing for a showdown.
The commissar’s job is demanding as it is akin to that of a mechanic who has to ensure that the engine is in condition every time.
Cde Manyika assumed the post of national commissar following the death of the iconic Cde Border Gezi. He began duties with specific instructions from the President and First Secretary of Zanu-PF to turn around the fortunes of the ruling party.
Though Cde Manyika took the baton from a giant, Cde Border Gezi, with time he wore the shoes and rose to the challenge.
His drive was Cde Mugabe’s displeasure at the state of party structures in many provinces, and Cde Manyika admitted that there was a correlation between the party’s performance and the vibrancy of its structures.
To this end, he took it as his personal calling to ensure that the party structures were functional from the cell to the province, and the fact that he met his end on that mission, testifies to the commitment he gave his party portfolio.
It is actually a misnomer to say he was a minister without portfolio, because his portfolio was the well-being of the party that informs Government. This translates to the well-being of Government.
The word “restructuring” had become a cliché on his lips.
I remember asking him about it in an interview on the sidelines of the National People’s Conference held in Goromonzi.
This is what he had to say: “The party can be destroyed in one of two ways: One, if there is acrimony amongst ourselves, we need to be united and ensure that there is peace and unity within Zanu-PF.
“The second aspect, of course, is organisation of the party. The strength of any party, for that matter, is in its structures, more so the grassroots structures. Here I am talking about the cells and villages, branches across the country; we will need to organise those. We have to really mobilise the party, and ensure that it is strong at the grassroots, and also that there are no squabbles amongst the leadership because it tends to confuse the ordinary people if we have squabbles among the top leadership.”
As commissar, Cde Manyika saw Zanu-PF through six national elections: the 2002 presidential contest, the March 31 2005 elections, the November 2005 run-off, the March 29 harmonised poll and the June 27 run-off.
Through it all, Zanu-PF was only shaken on March 29 when internal squabbling gave Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC-T faction a simple majority in the House of Assembly.
The redeeming factor, however, was that despite the sickening tendency by some within the party to sow seeds of division, Zanu-PF still won the popular vote.
Though the divisions saw the party’s presidential candidate, Cde Mugabe, trailing Tsvangirai in the presidential contest, Cde Manyika’s enduring legacy was the massive reversal of the March 29 debacle as expressed in Cde Mugabe’s landslide on June 27.
Indeed the circumstances of his death, which rekindled memories of the loss of his predecessor Cde Border Gezi, probably best sum the kind of man he was.
He died on the road, traversing the length and breadth of the country saTete veMusangano (commissar), arbitrating disputes, rectifying problems, conducting elections, healing wounds, unifying factions ahead of the Annual National People’s Conference that that was set to begin this week in Bindura.
It is fitting that the conference has been postponed in his honour.
Relevant Links
* Southern Africa
* Zimbabwe
The best honour all who consider themselves bona fide Zanu-PF cadres can give him, are not mouth-washed platitudes, but ensuring that the childish divisions and hare-brained schemes that divided the people’s vote on March 29 do not occur again; and that vibrant structures are in place.
As President Mugabe says, a refrain Cde Manyika regularly echoed, each cadre must never forget “iwe neni tine basa”.
Dare you forget that when you call yourself comrade (blood brother).
Take a deserved rest, Samanyanga, your labours were not in vain.
This man is campaigning for the commisar’s post in ZANU PF. Least he forgets what happened to the Gezi and Manyika. These Zvayi, Chinos kind of guys are too young to speak using thehir mouths without full knowledge. he does not even know how Manyika dies. Suppose he was taken by his own kind, then what would that mean to him? Big people in ZANU PF do not just have their mouths run because you never know whose toes are you stamping. Running mouths exposes people to the killers and who knows who could be next. Kana tichiti ZANU isinjonjo kureva kuti do not have running mouths. Hoyo Maynyika aenda asi hapana annotaura chamutora
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I am amazed by ZANOIDs who joined ZANU after independence vs. those who formed ZANU PF vs. those who fought during the war…..
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Zvayi, at least have some shame, how can you bootlick standing on Manyika’s corpse? His enduring legacy was the landslide presidential victory of June 27th? Really? A vote even Mugabe has the shame to insist on and demand recognition for? Hoyo otambiswa pada na Tsvangirai achiti huya kani titonge. Sadza rakoma vakomana. Tichaona muchanyarira kupi kana New Zimbabwe yauya, asi zvima Merc zvamakapiwa naGono? Mugare matoona zvekuita nazvo nekuti hurumende yeruzhinji ichatora zvinhu zvekupamba zvose zvakaita se Merc dzamakapiwa iwe, Munyaradzi Huni neumwe uya…
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I don’t fill remorse or pity for Manyika he was a killer. Zvayi is a young murderer in the making just forgive him as his time will be soon.
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Zvayi must be forgiven for being so childish. Manyika had a portfolio in government? Does Zvayi know the difference between a government and a political party? Is he aware there isno government in Zimbabwe? Does he know that Herald is a taxpayer funded paper and not the people’s voice? Even his orbituary suggests that Manyika actually destroyed ZANU. If he was really a ZANU cadre as he seems to suggest in this poorly written piece, he would not claim any glory for the destroyer of a self-destructing party that has destroyed every fabric of our country.
Look young Zvayi, you certainly miss the pulas and adequate food in Botswana.
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Zvayi ndiwe wasara. Muchapedzana mega zvenyu. Usanyepera vanhu. Manyika yaiva mhondi chaiyo. May he burn in hell fire for ever and ever. I will never even shed crocodile tears for this murderer. I might as well sing: Aenda, Aenda Norah (Manyika) haachadzoka. Kuchava nekugeda-geda kwemeno vanhu votongwa nemhosva dzavo. I would like to believe that Manyika is actually going through that right now before his Creator.
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What is Zvayi’s article doing on this paper? I dare the editor to say that he/she is not biased against Zanu, Gushungo and Associates? Anyway, maybe the editor thought it his/her journalistic duty to show the people just how dull Zvayi is, or quite possibly, again; there were no stories to run, so, why not publish Zvayi’s imbecilic ramblings.
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Ana Zvayi tibvireipo zvedu you have nothing to offer. Do you mean true cadreship yekutomenta vanhu. Campaigna zvakanaka kana uchida post ya Manyika. U will die the same way. Actually you are next, munopera rumwe rumwe.
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TO ZVAYI,
If Manyika believed that the strength of his Party was through organising its grassroots structures, why did he and his ZanuPF thugs always bloke MDC in organising its own structures?? Your ZanuPF thugs murder MDC grassroots Office bearers, seal off the rural areas, abduct etc etc etc………………. Do you really believe in what you are saying??? If you do answer those simple questions.
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Is this man serious Mr EDitor? Is this a joke? Either this buffoon is fake or he is a clown.There is nothing worse than being a fake in this world.To pretend you are mourning genuinely when you are laughing is worse than wiping your arse with a porridge stick.This Zvayi chap can’t pretend that Zimbabwe’s own version of Hitler’s Herman Goering (the Gestapo chief) this wicked Manyika’s death is a great loss to Zimbabwe,I mean taking a leaf from the funerals of true heroes such as CHris Ushewokunze,the likes of uMDHALA weTHU (JOSH NKOMO), OR GENERAL TONGOGARA.
SURELY ,THIS THUG , MURDERER and thief DID NOT EVEN DESERVE TO SET FOOT NEAR THE HEROES ACRE EVEN WHEN HE WAS ALIVE let alone his knobkerrie bashed head..iS THIS THE new Zanu pf,the people’s party rewarding evil with medals committed in the name of the President or enrichment people want? Infact ppeople are celebrating, 99.99% of Zimbabweans perhaps in anticipation of the death of the BIG ONE and for this reason nobody gives a rat’s arse about this MANYIKA BLOODYTHIRSTY HOOLIGAN.
WE ARE WAITING FOR THE BIG ONE; AND i TELL WHEN THE DAY COMES EVEN BARACK OBAMA’S VICTORY CELEBRATION WILL LOOK NOTHING LIKE A CHILDRENS PARTY.I AM SURE YOU CANT WAIT FOR THAT DAY.
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You should just take your bags and go job hunting iwe nface Zwayi than to be busy trying to inflict more suffering to the people. How does a person become a true cadre by killing innocent people? Just shut up, so annoying that when l see you l feel like making many small pieces of you. You are diabetic old fellow just go to the hospital to be checked.
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Zvayi, siyana naTuku mwana wamudhara. Wakutisvibisira our superster.
In fact, you yoursel, you should have been the one who had died. You are nothing but an experienced and well brain washed Bob bootlicker. Keep up th good work, one day you could fit into the idiotic Charles Charamba. Am told Charamba licks to the extend of keeping Bob the nutter’s d u z v i muden as souvernir. This is unmatched patriotism.
M U C H A M A M A chete.
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Zvayi; uri ****.We know Zanu Pf gave you a house forcefully take from the Werner family in Gunnhill.Mai vako Zvayi!
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Young Cease, shut the hell up we do not need your input here.
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Zvayi Chibwa CheMunhu….Chimunin`ina Cha Rueben Barwe…Choti Kushata…Akanga akudaidza kuBotswana Ndiani…zvaunowanzoti muno muzimbabwe is milk and honey..A confused jounalist
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siza zvayi,there is nothing wrong with anything in zanu for you because ndipo pawakawana chikafu after years of being a nothing.its a pity .i feel sorry for people like you who when some of us were creating success through our own efforts you created yours from the suffering of your nation.now you forget you are not exactly zanu.dont think they are fools.your time will be up and they will place you where you belong ,kuticha’s cottage.why is it that someone who was mugabe’s enemy uchirutsa zvawaida about him suddenly realised kuti hazvina chibhanzi and there you are.hausvodi shuwa.zvishandire zvinhu zvako zvisina ani anoti izvo.i know you siza from those years when you had nothing and i still see you as nobody because kamhuri kekwenyu wont inherit anything from zvinhu zvezanu zvaunotapirirwa nazvo.shame on you.so dull you couldnt even make it for deputy head all those years and now you take cover munika dze zanupf.futseki imbwa yemunhu.right manyika aiva cader so you say ko iwe uri chiyi?
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true zanu pf cadreship is a state of being able to kill innocent defenceless people. yes manyika was one and so is zvayi (pen is mightier than sword) is an intellectual murderer, true zanu pf cadre.
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Ndoo saka wakadzingwa kuBotswana.uchamwa mvura nemaputi vamwe tichidya kuNandos.wake up Zvai stop giving praise where it is not worth.he was a murderer,who lived by the sword and died bye sword.may his soul roast in HELL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Mr Editor do you not have some useful articles to put up. Please remove this junk from here. Some of us do not have time for the Herald and we would not want to read it hear.
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The song to remember Kesari is
“Pidigori Wayenda, Pidigori wayenda…!”
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vana zvayi endai kuno m.a..m.a kana mashaya nyaya.
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