Graphic: Zimbabwe’s bootlicking contest

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”.