Outspoken Zanu-PF activist and businessman Acie Lumumba has launched a scathing verbal missile at former Norton legislator Temba Mliswa, branding him an “institutional termite” whose antics led to his dramatic eviction from the ruling party.

In a theatrical tirade, Lumumba accused Mliswa of confusing loud shouting with actual political wisdom. “This man thinks that if he yells loud enough, logic will magically appear,” Lumumba quipped. “Zanu-PF kicked him out because they couldn’t handle his circus act. His political strategy? Shout louder than everyone else and hope people mistake noise for substance.”

Lumumba didn’t stop there, dubbing Mliswa the “biggest flip-flopper in Zimbabwean politics,” a title that apparently comes with a lifetime supply of political confusion. “Who actually believes Temba Mliswa is decent? Zanu-PF certainly doesn’t. They fired him because he’s like a termite gnawing away at the institution from the inside,” Lumumba declared.

Mliswa, no stranger to controversy, was expelled from Zanu-PF in 2015 amid factional drama. Since then, he’s reinvented himself as the independent maverick, snagging the Norton seat in 2018 before being unceremoniously ousted by Citizens Coalition for Change’s Richard Tsvangirai in 2023.

The drama escalates as Mliswa finds himself in hot water again after a leaked audio clip surfaced, allegedly revealing his claim that fuel tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei has not only captured the military but is also being groomed as President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s heir apparent. “Mnangagwa will leave someone he trusts to look after his interests, and that’s Kuda. No coup will ever happen here. Just look—military bosses got 100 cars. Those are Kuda’s cars,” Mliswa is heard saying in the recording.

The audio, dropped by businessman Agrippa “Bopela” Masiyakurima, has set social media and political circles ablaze. Mliswa fired back, accusing Masiyakurima of betrayal and selective editing. “Bopela, I thought you were a brother. We shared meals and sent kids to school together. But you had other plans, apparently to please someone mysterious. Next time, leak the whole conversation, not just the bits you like,” Mliswa tweeted.

Meanwhile, President Mnangagwa and his Deputy Constantino Chiwenga are locked in a high-stakes succession showdown, with rumors swirling that Mnangagwa plans to sideline the former Army General. Adding to the soap opera, whispers suggest Mliswa might have been paid by Tagwirei and Mnangagwa to smear Chiwenga, turning Zimbabwean politics into a real-life telenovela where alliances shift faster than you can say “institutional termite.”

• Nehanda Radio