FULL THREAD: Former Advisor To ED Fights Back
Petina Gappah who is a former advisor to President Emmerson Mnangagwa has defended her decision to be Mnangagwa’s advisor two years ago.
Below is a Twitter thread which started with Alpha Media Holdings chairman, Trevor Ncube saying that he was fascinated by the number of people with a newfound admiration for Petina Gappah @VascoDaGappah. He added a YouTube link of his conversation with her )YouTube.com//InConversatio…).
First to respond was Siphosami Malunga @SiphoMalunga who said:
Great interview! I am in awe & so proud of @VascoDaGappah achievements. She is a dearest friend for years. I was happy to hear her finally acknowledge what we have been saying for the past 2 years from the day of the coup when she & I disagreed on Twitter about ED & patriotism.
Zimbabwe under ED has never been open for anything: not for business, democracy, freedom, human rights, improved lives, economic development. We critiqued corruption, state violence, flawed & fixed elections, impunity for past atrocities for 2 years. Glad we now agree on this.
@SiphoMalunga I don’t remember the details of our disagreement but I handled things badly in many ways. I was deeply wounded that people I had known for so long, friends colleagues and fellow travellers could be so malicious about me, and I was not always prudent in my responses.
It was never malice. We had no doubt about your prior commitment to a democratic Zimbabwe. Your credentials to that point were clear.We were just unable to understand how with that history & experience-you could cast your lot with &defend the very same people who destroyed it for 39yrs.
Petina Gappah @VascoDaGappah replied:
And not one of you asked me why. You made assumptions and chibhende posts. Oh it is pure malice. No doubt at all. You are all delighting in what Orwell calls the 1-minute hate. And yet some actually wanted to work on the ZPF campaign. Then there are those with personal issues!
And also, after a violent election in 2008, some you had no problems at all working for 4 years in government with these same people, this same president and his predecessor. But no, let’s pile on Petina who goes in for one year.
Another issue: some of you Open Society folk have been dog-whistling and sneering about how I am appealing to imperial interests. Seriously? This from people who are typing their vitriol on phones and computers purchased with hedge fund money, betting against the pound money?
Anybody funded by Soros should keep quiet. Money from playing bets and ruining productive markets. Mari yeNjuga is no different from corruption money. Same difference. What do they produce?
This has been one of their consistent lines of attack. I am somehow inferior and immoral because I tried to open Zim to investment because I work in trade and I have sold my books. But they with salaries that come from profits of speculative investing are superior ones?
As a rule, I avoid engaging trolls but Petina perhaps you should keep quiet as Matigary suggests. Are you not a direct beneficiary of Open Society funds that you now dishonestly disavow?
Not at all. I do not and did not disavow these funds. I am simply pointing to the dishonesty of those who sneer at my work on investment while themselves benefiting from profits of speculative investment. Thanks.
Great, we’ve established that. Just to be clear, I currently & proudly lead the Open Society in Southern Africa which works to promote democratic & open societies- I’ve been speaking out against abuse in Zimbabwe & elsewhere for the past 25 years. I’m not about to keep quiet now.
To be equally clear, I am proud of the work I did for the government, the respect I earned and the brilliant minds I met. I have been supporting my country in different ways for the past 20 years from my PhD thesis to now. Just because my approach is not yours does not make it wrong.
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