BY DR MASIMBA MAVAZA
Energy Mutodi has been hogging the lime light for all sorts of reasons. He has risen in Politics to be a deputy minister of Information. This was a feat many accomplished politicians have failed to achieve. Some national heroes have laid their heads in their graves without getting a ministerial honour from a sitting president. Such was indeed a great achievement Energy Mutodi achieved. But who is Energy Mutodi?
Energy Ndombolo Mutodi was born on 4 August 1978.He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) in 2001.He took studies in defence management from the University of Witwatersrand graduating with a certificate. In 2011 he was at UZ doing a Masters Degree in Business Administration.
Mutodi discharged himself as a busy body. In 2012 Mutodi took up singing and refused to limit himself to one type of music. He put his nose in Rhumba Sungura Gospel Jiti and even country music. He has so far released four albums. Some of the songs that made him popular are Angelina, Chigorodanda and Tozosangana.
Despite his big appetite for everything Mutodi is a politician and belongs to ZANU PF party. It is however difficult to put Mutodi and reason in one sentence. In his political life Mutodi became well known for his wisdom or lack of it.
In the 2013 July 31 harmonized elections, he contested during the ZANU PF primaries to be selected to be the ZANU PF member to contest for the Goromonzi South Constituency. However he was defeated by Beatrice Nyamupinga who was selected to be the Member of Parliament during the coveted July 31 elections.
Mutodi prided himself in fiction and during Mujuru battle when it was reported that the then Vice President of Zimbabwe, Joice Mujuru and her allies were planning to assassinate the late President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, Mutodi produced his own version of the story pinning Mujuru and her allies. He claimed that he conducted his own investigations and discovered that Mujuru who was accused of fanning factionalism within ZANU PF was guilty of hatching a plot to assassinate Mugabe. He stated that, her allies, namely, Nicholas Goche, Tendai Savanhu and Ray Kaukonde met in South Africa where they resolved on how to kill Mugabe with the aid of a group of mercenaries known as Sandline International (formerly known as Executive Outcomes. According to Mutodi, these people devised 3 strategic ways to kill Mugabe. Mutodi was desperate to have President Mugabe in his good books.
Mutodi was to be tossed out of Mugabe’s camp when a photo of him and the then Vice President the now president cde Mnangagwa emerged where Mutodi was having a toast. Cde Mnangagwa was holding the famous I am the boss mug which was used by Jonathan Moyo to turn Mugabe against Mnangagwa. The mug became the changing point for both Zimbabwe Mutodi and ED.
The G40 cabal used that photo to show that Mnangagwa was honouring presidential ambitions and that Mutodi was seen to be a foot soldier.
Mutodi emerged as a supporter of the new faction believed to be led by Mnangagwa called Lacoste. Mutodi openly sided with this faction in its fight against the G40 faction in the race to succeed Mugabe.
So the photo of fate made Mutodi an enemy of choice and he was arrested for crimes ranging from undermining the authority of president Mugabe to fraud. He was once ejected from a rally as he was accused of undermining Mugabe.
So Mutodi by lifting a cup and paused for a photo at the right time Mutodi’s political path changed course.
When President Mnangagwa ascended to the throne Energy Mutodi was rewarded by being appointed the deputy minister of Information.
Not later than he was appointed deputy minister did he start digging his own political grave.
It took him a Mug to become a deputy minister but it needed more than lifting a mug to maintain that position.
Mutodi continuously openly clashed with his senior the Minister of Information, Publicity & Broadcasting Services, Monica Mutsvangwa just a few months after the appointment. He lacked maturity in his political decisions and took his fight to the twitter.
Mutodi had quickly forgotten that the twitting minister who used his fingers to dig his way out of politics was once in the ministry of information and that was Jonathan Moyo. So the Jonathan Moyo befell Mutodi.
Mutodi was finally fired not because he had put the mug down no. Mutodi became too powerful in his mind and created problems for himself.
Despite his fight with Minister Mutsvangwa Mutodi poked his unguided twitting fingers towards Tanzania.
That was a diplomatic misconduct , because he did not understand the effects of his mistakes he turned his barrel against SB Moyo who was trying to sort the mess Mutodi has put the nation in. By this time Mutodis insanity knew no boundary. He then mouthed what he could not swallow by insulting two senior ministers a spouse of a minister and a foreign head of state.
He had thrown an egg in the face of his appointing authority. So the clock was ticking fast. Instead of following the channels available in dealing with misunderstandings Mutodi took to Twitter accusing two ministers of wanting to kill him. That was a point of no return.
The president was left with no choice but to offload the excess baggage.
There is a lot of public interest around the termination of Energy Mutodi’s appointment as Deputy Minister for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services.
But the truth being said the position is as good as being ceremonial. He had nothing to do but to get paid and abuse his privilege.
Mutodi was thrust in a ministerial position before he was ready. His mediocrity and confusion was written all over his face, voice and character. He behaved like a spoiled child and the only service he offered his constituency was being showy.
Mutodi rose through luck. Firstly he lifted a cup. Life treats us differently. A cup in any person’s hand means nothing but a cup in Mutodi’s hand meant a position as a minister. His second stream of luck was when MDC awarded him a constituency. MDC imposed Luke Tamborinyoka in the constituency thereby dividing splitting the votes. This gifted Mutodi with that constituency. So. Luck played a greater role in Mutodi’s political life.
But luck needs to be sustained not by pride but hard-work. Unfortunately Mutodi watered his luck with pride and he repeat a boot.
Patronage rewards, and it rewards handsomely sometimes. But it escapes anyone in a very fast way if you abuse it. Mutodi needed orientation but it seems ministers are trained on the job. So Mutodi did not finish his training as the job ended while on training.
Mutodi was removed from deputising but he remains the honourable MP. If he lifts another mug and maybe respect seniors he might bounce back.
