The Sunday Mail
One wise man once remarked “It’s better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.”
This is sound advice that Morgan Tsvangirai’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka should heed.
The MDC-T leader is fast gaining the reputation of being a shameless and confused liar judging from his childish handling of otherwise straightforward matters and challenges. While Tsvangirai himself is no Einstein, I have since realised that the major cause of all the circus and fiasco that he constantly finds himself in, is none other than his boyish, ill-qualified, and amateurish spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka.
Let’s look at a few of the instances where Tamborinyoka did a shoddy job in safeguarding his boss’s reputation and social standing.
In November 2011, it was reported that Tsvangirai married Locardia Karimatsenga Tembo but dumped her after 12 days later claiming the marriage had been hijacked by the media and state security agents. It was alleged in the media that Tsvangirai paid money to the Tembo family.
Luke Tamborinyoka categorically denied anything of the sort had ever happened and claimed he only read about it in the papers only to have Tsvangirai himself admitting that he had paid money to the Tembos after video evidence emerged. Why didn’t Tamborinyoka just say that in the first place?
Tsvangirai’s statement was understandably greeted with scepticism as the public questioned the paying of damages to a full-grown woman of more than ample means. His statement was interpreted as a cheap attempt to heartlessly discard a woman he had customarily married.
Such speculation could have been avoided with a single straight answer from Tamborinyoka when he was first contacted for comment.
In June 2012, rumour began to circulate that Tsvangirai was scheduled to have a white wedding in September of the same year to Elizabeth Macheka. It was reported that Tsvangirai would tie the knot with Ms Macheka on September 15th, at a ceremony in Harare.
Having learnt nothing from the Locardia fiasco, Luke Tamborinyoka vehemently denied the reports and claimed: “It’s media talk, media speculation, there is no truth in it at all.”
To everyone’s surprise, Tsvangirai tied the knot publicly and lavishly on 15 September 2012.
Surely just admitting that his boss was set to wed would not have cost Tamborinyoka or his boss anything; on the contrary it would have saved him the tag of being a habitual liar and wanna-be spin doctor.
Only recently Tsvangirai fell ill as any human being is bound to. Tsvangirai was hospitalised with an as yet undisclosed ailment. Tamborinyoka denied that his boss had been hospitalised, saying he was resting at home as advised by his doctors because of “overworking”.
“Mr Tsvangirai has been unwell and has been coming to the city centre to see his doctor and going back home. He has not been hospitalised as you are claiming. His doctor has directed that he rests at home and that is what he has been religiously doing.”
Less than 48 hours later, Tsvangirai was in the media amid allegations that he had left the hospital without paying hospitalisation bills.
Forgetting that he had insisted that Tsvangirai never spent a night in the hospital, Tamborinyoka produced a receipt which indicated his boss paid a total of $4 358,53 for receiving treatment at the facility.
“Zimbabweans woke up today to the news that President Tsvangirai has fled a medical institution without paying his bills.
“For the record, President Tsvangirai left hospital around 1100hrs and his bill was paid about an hour later at 1200hrs in line with the agreement reached with hospital authorities.
“His total bill of $4 358,53 was paid and we take great exception to the reckless journalism that is claiming he has not paid,” announced Tamborinyoka.
The question is how could Tsvangirai have left the hospital at 1100hrs if he was never hospitalised and is it plausible, to pay such an amount for infrequent visits to a medical facility?
Tamborinyoka took umbrage at newspaper allegations that Tsvangirai had left the hospital without paying his bill forgetting that he is to blame for the fiasco.
Why deny that Tsvangirai is ill in the first place? A straightforward answer would have saved his boss embarrassment and sensationalism. After all, falling ill is a natural occurrence in life.
A simple acknowledgment that Tsvangirai was not feeling well and was admitted in hospital would have sufficed.
After all, Tsvangirai and his mouthpiece have always been at the forefront, calling for transparency concerning national leaders’ health issues.
Why not practise what he preaches instead of the two-faced hypocrisy?
Since he took over from James Maridadi, a seasoned media practitioner, it has become apparent that Tamborinyoka’s duties as Tsvangirai’s spokesperson are way beyond his capabilities. The instances highlighted in this article are only the more prominent ones and by no means exhaustive of Tamborinyoka’s public misfirings.
What is clear is that each time Tsvangirai makes a blunder, instead of fire-fighting, Tamborinyoka adds fuel to the fire.
Each time a significant event happens concerning Tsvangirai, Tamborinyoka flounders, dragging his boss along with him with his hastily thrown out, childish and completely untrue statements.
Tamborinyoka misguidedly believes being a spokesperson means being a serial professional liar. In the process, he continuously, by extension, gives the impression that Tsvangirai is a compulsive liar who denies facts even if they slap him in the face. I am no PR guru, but surely this goes against all tenets of the profession.
The mark of a good spokesperson is not to lie but to present the truth in a favourable manner that saves your boss immediate and future embarrassment.
I am left wondering if there aren’t better qualified people within the MDC-T who can do justice as Tsvangirai’s spokesperson.
If, for personal reasons, Tsvangirai insists on retaining him as his mouthpiece, then he should perhaps encourage him to go for further journalism and political communication training before he brings him and the party to complete ruin.
Yes, Morgan Tsvangirai has a right to privacy but as a public figure, an aspiring president at that, events in his life become matters of national interest.
As such, he needs an articulate and level-headed spokesperson not an excitable overzealous one such as Tamborinyoka whose greatest achievement is portraying his boss as a lying, confused buffoon.
