×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Graphic: Zimbabwe’s bootlicking contest

News
Politics in Zimbabwe has always been driven by loyalty to the leadership. Interestingly, various politicians pay homage to their leaders in different ways

Politics in Zimbabwe has always been driven by loyalty to the leadership.

Interestingly, various politicians pay homage to their leaders in different ways, but the most intriguing group is that which uses grovelling as a tool to curry favour.

In trying to portray themselves as genuinely true-blue devotees, these boot-lickers often end up using excessively sensational, and honeyed words that become a source of banter for hard-pressed Zimbabweans.

In the graphic below are some of the phrases that politicians have used to refer to either President Robert Mugabe or MDC-T leader and former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

In Zanu PF, it appears the late Tony Gara, a former Harare Mayor, set the example when in 1990, he reportedly said Mugabe was “God’s other son”.

Bootlicking_Centrespread Graphic_Cynthia R Matonhodze 1

The opposition MDC-T is not an exception, as shown in the graphic below.

Bootlicking_Centrespread Graphic_Cynthia R Matonhodze 2

Tapiwa Zivira, Online Reporter