By Paul Nyathi|Prominent critic Hopewell Chinono has urged Zimbabweans to bear with opposition MDC-T leader Nelson Chamisa as he matures in his political leadership.

In one of his usual straight to the point critics, Chinono says that if Zimbabweans are able to forgive Chamisa’s rivals some of whom have committed atrocious acts then young Chamisa also needs to be forgiven for his so called “childish blunders,”

An extract of Chinono’s writing picked up from his Facebook page reads as follows:

Nelson Chamisa’s trip to London was a disaster, but to what extend should he be continuously bashed for the mistakes and YES, the lies that he peddled?

We need to put things into context, he is young and exuberant and has made mistakes but so has the other side too.

They have been part of Robert Mugabe’s electoral fraud that was underpinned by violence and murder!

So if we can forgive them and say let us give them a chance, then we should be able to do the same to Wamba.

He should now be judged on the basis of what he does with the mistakes he has made so far.

I would like this election to be about ideas as much as it should be about political realities, both past and present.

ZANUPF has fraudsters, incompetent ministers and shady characters like Supa Mandiwanzira and Obert Mpofu but we are willing to give President Mnangagwa a chance to state his case because we understand that politics is not simplistic.

It should also be about fairness, proportion and honesty as much as it should be about objective realities around us.

Nero, as Nelson is also known to his supporters has made mistakes but his biggest mistake so far has been his tragic failure to publicly acknowledge those mistakes and knowing when to apologize.

Emmerson Mnangagwa has also made monumental mistakes but he has been wise enough to know when to pull back and when to turn on the charm and more importantly when to keep quiet.

He has acknowledged that Zimbabwe is 18 years behind, Constantino Chiwenga acknowledged on the eve of Operation Restore Legacy that nothing had happened on the economic front in the last five years.

Citizens like that sort of candor and honesty, that is why many are willing to give them a chance.

Nelson needs to do the same and acknowledge that he may have exaggerated and stretched the truth! He was caught out on HardTalk.

Citizens love leaders who accept that they are not perfect, we see ourselves in them.

However it is unfair and not right to judge Wamba on this issue alone, he didn’t kill or maim anybody.

If we can forgive ED and his outfit, then let us also have the fairness and decency of extending the same principle to Nero!

We want the best out of our leaders, they are not perfect. In fact many of them are not fit for purpose.

However we don’t live in an utopian world, we also need to accept that the best people for the job might be those that hurt us before it lied to us before.

Let us hear what they have to say and judge them cognizant of the proportion of their commissions and omissions.

If Nero is unacceptable because if his past lies and fiction, what about those who murdered and stole elections for Mugabe?

Let us have the ability to understand politics, it is not for saints.
ED deserves a fair opportunity to present his case as much as Nero does.

We now know of their weaknesses, let us talk about their strengths!
This race is open and up for grabs for the group that plays their cards right.

We spent the whole day being hit with videos projecting Nelson’s weaknesses.

For the purposes of fairness I also thought that it would be only right to remind ourselves of the weaknesses of his adversaries.

Now that we know, what do they have to offer?