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𝑲𝑵𝑶𝑿 𝑴𝑼𝑻𝑰𝒁𝑾𝑨 𝑺𝑷𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑫 𝑰𝑵 𝑷𝑳𝑲 𝑨𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑫 𝑶𝑭 𝑽𝑬𝑵𝑫𝑨 𝑭𝑪 𝑴𝑶𝑽𝑬 Former Golden Arrows striker Knox Mutizwa was spotted leaving the Home Affairs offices in Thornhill, Polokwane as he finalises his paperwork ahead of an imminent move to Motsepe Foundation Championship side Venda FC. #FARPost

131,030 views • 10 days ago •via X (Twitter)

35 Comments

EmjayMaribe 🇿🇦's profile picture
EmjayMaribe 🇿🇦10 days ago

Sometimes is better to be benched on a Team like Mamelodi Sundowns than to play your lungs out season after season in a small club . And this is exactly where I disagree with people who often advocate for big teams to release players coz the Financial differences between the big 3 and the rest most of the times is unmatched.

Joe Nkosi's profile picture
Joe Nkosi10 days ago

These foreign guys badla imali neyfebe...cant even buy himself an adidas clothes

Sheriff's profile picture
Sheriff10 days ago

Thats not a walk of a player.

Marvin Clay's profile picture
Marvin Clay10 days ago

I don't care about dressing codes. But, rather be dressed like that with your bank acc smiling. I hope his bank account is smiling.

BOSS 🇿🇦 !!'s profile picture
BOSS 🇿🇦 !!10 days ago

Why is he dressed so shabbily 🤔

Shendeledikazi's profile picture
Shendeledikazi10 days ago

durban baddies finished him...

Rama's profile picture
Rama10 days ago

Knox Mutizwa went to get drunk in Maboneng wearing Richards Bay branded clothing and the following day he was fired. He really needs to get rid of his friends.

Kamo M ™'s profile picture
Kamo M ™10 days ago

He looks like he is walking with a limp

Naphtally Phasha's profile picture
Naphtally Phasha9 days ago

Knox should be amongst the best finishers we have seen... I don't know what happened.

Muntu Abathusi's profile picture
Muntu Abathusi10 days ago

Looks like nyaope boy

Z'yajola Nyandeni 🇿🇦uBhut'wabantu🇿🇦's profile picture
Z'yajola Nyandeni 🇿🇦uBhut'wabantu🇿🇦9 days ago

He looks off balance is he OK?

Xolani Mbatha's profile picture
Xolani Mbatha10 days ago

He looks sick

Academia and the world's profile picture
Academia and the world10 days ago

Uphilile kodwa xa kulenga orhali?

PATRICK_ M's profile picture
PATRICK_ M10 days ago

Why is he wearing a hoodie, its hot out here 😫

B.E.N.Z.O's profile picture
B.E.N.Z.O10 days ago

@VillageGuluva What did this guy do at Arrows that they fired him mid season?

Broken Native 🌎's profile picture
Broken Native 🌎10 days ago

His health leaves a lot of questions unanswered 🤦🏿

Sakhie Mapoyi's profile picture
Sakhie Mapoyi9 days ago

He looks like some one who spent a night in police custody, arrested for drunk and driving.

Bongoman's profile picture
Bongoman10 days ago

Psl material this one. Going to lower division🙉

Mkhinyabezi Nyandeni's profile picture
Mkhinyabezi Nyandeni10 days ago

He looks I'll 🤔

🇿🇦GERVINHO🇿🇦's profile picture
🇿🇦GERVINHO🇿🇦10 days ago

So at Golden arrows was he was playing for free?

The Cabinet's profile picture
The Cabinet10 days ago

...he can still offer something to Psl teams Knocksman.

⭐️⭐️African champion⭐️⭐️👆's profile picture
⭐️⭐️African champion⭐️⭐️👆10 days ago

He was good but discipline was a problem

Molwantwa's profile picture
Molwantwa10 days ago

Why asa tlhape kante?

Hope's profile picture
Hope9 days ago

There's home affairs in thornhill polokwane?

Jobe Lomnandi🥑🍌's profile picture
Jobe Lomnandi🥑🍌9 days ago

I can smell hidden injury

Mfanakagogo's profile picture
Mfanakagogo10 days ago

Manqoba destroyed this boys career

NGWATO⭐⭐🇿🇦's profile picture
NGWATO⭐⭐🇿🇦9 days ago

Thought he was coming out of Spar Tops🤣🤣🤣🤣

K G A P Z's profile picture
K G A P Z10 days ago

Zero aura 😭😭😭

Mudzulatshidulo_'s profile picture
Mudzulatshidulo_10 days ago

Can't change a zimbo,even if you take em overseas!!!

🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦's profile picture
🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦9 days ago

Ao Knoxman madoda @Goodfri8nd

Motubeni Mofenyi's profile picture
Motubeni Mofenyi9 days ago

He doesn't look well maan

Gwevani80's profile picture
Gwevani8010 days ago

😁😁😁

Karabo_Maluk.'s profile picture
Karabo_Maluk.10 days ago

Hai hai.. you cant even tell hes a football player.

Ronald Mkhatshwa's profile picture
Ronald Mkhatshwa9 days ago

Why is he walking like that 🤔 he’s teka-teking is he okay 🤔🤔🤔

PovertyKiller_Official 's profile picture
PovertyKiller_Official 10 days ago

Perfect week to easily make money on tennis for you, I am free. I’ve done it before a lot of times I can do it again Let’s punish bookies🔥

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Free Leaseholders

12,317 views • 7 months ago

#Syria: #DuraEuropos offers a spectacular and unique testimony to the collision between 2 Empires in the mid-3rd century. Dura's final moments 👇 The site is located in the N. Abukemal countryside and overlooks the #Euphrates Valley. The Romans had chosen the town to establish their Eastern military HQ as a forward position against the rival Persian Empire. The Roman commander's Palace offered a commanding, breathtaking view over the Euphrates Valley and the lands beyond. The Romans had prior Intelligence the Persians planned to take the town and began work to fortify it. Both sides were experts in urban siege. Dura was already impregnable on 3 sides: 2 overlooked a wadi and the 3rd was built atop a cliff over 40 m high. As a result, only the Western side, opening onto a plateau and the desert, was vulnerable to an assault. Thus, the Romans significantly reinforced the Western urban section with: - an outer mudbrick glacis abutting the rampart to withstand Persian artillery - the demolition of the Roman tower-tombs outside the city, to prevent the Persians from using them as watchtowers - the sacrifice of the entire first row of urban buildings (including the famous Synagogue) to erect a massive earth bank granting quick access to the wall walk. Both the outer glacis and the inner earth berm were also designed to support the rampart on both sides and prevent it from collapsing once the Persian mines began. In 256, the Persian army, led by King Shapur I, began to move to take the town. The King, who mobilized a sizable army, laid siege to the town, blocking the Western side. The Persians first tried conventional tactics, launching assaults on the main gate (see 0:02-0:10), but all attempts to enter the town were defeated by the Romans. Then the Persians began digging mines under the rampart, aiming to make it collapse. But, as seen, the Romans had prepared for this scenario: although the foundations of both the rampart and several towers were damaged by the mines, the double (outer and inner) protection built by the Romans held and prevented the rampart from collapsing. While the rampart cracked (see 0:14) and sank several meters, no breach was created. The Persians also used mines to try to directly enter the town, but the Romans detected them and built their own counter-mines, killing the enemy soldiers in underground battles. As an anecdote, the skeleton of a Persian soldier was found during archaeological excavations conducted in the 20th century. He was buried in a collapsed mine, still wearing his chainmail, along with Roman coins he stole while passing through a tomb during the mining operation. Dura also offers the first documented use in History of the principles of chemical warfare: remains of sulfur dioxide and fire accelerants were found - along with bodies - in some mines, believed to have been used to spread toxic fumes and kill soldiers. After all attempts to break into the town failed, the Persians had no other choice but to begin one of the greatest siege works in History (only surpassed by Masada): the construction of a massive assault ramp, aiming to surpass the height of the rampart (8–9 m). It's believed the Persians forced residents of nearby villages who didn't take shelter in Dura to build it, as the Romans heavily targeted them with artillery and arrows, killing scores. But the construction of the ramp went ahead and the Romans used the Persian technique against them: they dug 2 tunnels from inside the town and mined the assault ramp, causing parts of it to collapse. Yet the Persians had time and manpower on their side and the assault ramp was eventually completed, allowing them to storm the town. The last Roman soldiers of the garrison retreated to the citadel (seen at 1:14), where they resisted until the end. The population of Dura was then deported to the Persian Empire and the town was abandoned, which allowed for an exceptional state of preservation, with some of the most stunning discoveries for this period: papyri, clothes and wall paintings - all preserved thanks to the dry climate. The precise timing of Dura's fall isn't known, but it's believed to have taken about one year. The stubborn resistance of the Roman garrison significantly delayed Shapur I from moving further West, which would culminate with the capture of Antioch in 260, at a time when the Roman Empire faced an acute crisis.

Qalaat Al Mudiq

16,674 views • 6 months ago

Ch. 14 of NITRO: The Inside Story of Hulk Hogan's heel turn - #OTD 30 Years Ago (7/7/96)! AS DAY BECAME NIGHT at the Sullivan home, Bollea deliberated his participation in the pay-per-view. “Everybody was telling him that it was the wrong thing to do,” Kevin Sullivan says. “He was getting booed out of the arena, but they were all saying, ‘this is gonna kill him’.” With no end to the discussion in sight, the wily booker casually suggested that Bollea and Young make use of his two guest rooms until the morning. “I isolated [them],” Sullivan admits. “I was just afraid that at the last minute, he was going to use his creative control [clause] and pull out.” If Sullivan could deliver Bollea to the arena by showtime, the finish of the match called for Hogan to star in the most dramatic of surprise endings. In a sequence devised by Kevin Nash, an unannounced Hulkster would shockingly interfere in the match, but only after the heels gained an unfair advantage through cheating. It would be a brilliant misdirection, Nash thought, as fans would instinctively believe Hogan’s appearance to be in support of the babyface team. “I knew there were gonna be 55 different ideas,” Nash says, thinking back to the eve of the event, “[so] I actually put a lot of thought into it. I called Scott [Hall] two or three days before that, and said ‘what do you think about this?’ “We had to make it a 2-on-2 match with Lex Luger getting injured [during the match] and going out. We would cheat to get Macho [Man] in trouble and all of a sudden Hulk comes down, which of course would mean ‘ok, here comes Hulk to make the save’. [Hall] said, ‘I love it’.” There was, however, the looming possibility that Bollea could reject his turn at the eleventh hour. Thinking ahead, Eric Bischoff developed a contingency plan in which Sting would play the role, ultimately revealing himself - despite not having prior experience with the WWF - as the ‘third man’ instead. “I remember Eric came in to the locker room,” recalls Marcus 'Buff' Bagwell, “and said [to Sting], ‘I wanna talk to you about something’. I could hear them going over the idea, and then when they got done, Sting told me what they were talking about. He said that [Eric said], ‘there are only two guys that could turn heel where it would really matter’. That would be Hogan and Sting.” “He was offering Sting the job first, [as I recall], and Sting didn’t wanna do it. He didn’t really say it wouldn’t work, but he just said, ‘it doesn’t intrigue me. I don’t wanna do it’.” According to Andre Freitas, a special effects artist who worked in costume design and character development for WCW, the proposed Sting swerve was to involve the use of a doppelganger - or ‘phony’ Sting - presumably in an effort to fool fans that the real character had switched sides. “That was their original plan,” says Freitas. “Eric showed me a picture of Jeff Farmer (a lower-card wrestler) and said ‘can you make him Sting?’ I told him that they have similar bodies...then we looked at Sting’s hair and Jeff’s hair...and talked about all that stuff. I did a head cast for [Farmer] and some prosthetic and test make-ups. But when they secured Hogan, we didn’t do [the angle].” ----------- Amazingly, even as Bash at the Beach began, Bischoff continued to consider Plan B. “I remember walking by this perforated wall in the Ocean Center,” divulges Nash, “and Eric said to me, ‘Hulk is with Sullivan, and he’s not sure he’s gonna do it yet’. It was up in the air.” Meanwhile, viewers of the pay-per-view - and, for that matter, WCW’s own production staff - speculated as to the identity of the third man. “They were trying to ‘work’ everyone,” asserts Jason Douglas, a WCW producer backstage at his first pay-per-view event. “‘Rocket’ (staff member Rick Sancher) came up to me - they were kinda testing me because I was new on the road - and said ‘hey, I think it’s gonna be [WWF wrestler] Bret Hart’. I guess it was to see if I would leak something, and so I was just like ‘oh, cool, Bret Hart’.” In reality, aside from Bischoff, Bollea, Young, Hall, Nash and Sullivan, the turn would be concealed from everyone - even the announcers, according to orders from Bischoff - as to ensure their most realistic reactions. With less than an hour before the main event began, production staffer Woody Kearce discovered a revealing clue in the parking lot. A Hulk Hogan motorcycle had appeared mysteriously in one of the spaces, sparking another round of backstage conjecture. Finally, with what Sullivan recalls as “thirty minutes” and Bischoff remembers as “forty-five to sixty minutes” left on the air, Bollea belatedly arrived at the Ocean Center. The mood suddenly changed. Upon realizing that his star had been convinced, Bischoff began to relax. “Once he got to the building, I recall a sense of calm,” he reveals. “All of the anxiety, all of the tension, all of the worry, all of the effort to make sure things stayed quiet...all of that just kind of dissipated. It was like fog lifting when the sun comes out - it all just went away. I was thinking, ‘it is what it is, there’s nothing more I can do...so let’s just roll with it’.” To cement the turn, Bollea knew, he would have to deliver a monumental post-match promo to explain his actions. While typically, he enjoyed using Bischoff as a sounding board to rehearse interviews, the need for complete privacy - on this occasion - was unquestionably paramount. And so, away from prying eyes - and ears - the two met up in the most unglamorous of clandestine locations - a utility closet. In the midst of the run-through, Bischoff stopped to emphasize an important point: When you grab that microphone, I want you to say...‘this is the beginning of the new...world...order’. The phrase - ‘new world order’ - lingered auspiciously in the air. Bischoff surprised himself with the utterance, realizing slowly that the term encapsulated everything that the invasion storyline could represent. In 1990, then-president George H.W. Bush famously utilized the same expression in a speech to Congress, although its origin could actually be traced back to the 28th President, Woodrow Wilson. But if Bischoff was unsure as to the source of his spontaneous inspiration, perhaps the answer could be found closer to home - on the preceding Nitro, just six days earlier, announcer Larry Zybysko serendipitously made the following proclamation: “This Sunday, I promise you, there will be a new world order of wrestling…” Fans at the Ocean Center waited anxiously to see if Zybysko’s prophecy would materialize; for after all the hoopla, it was suddenly time for the main event. Before the opening bell, the audience was already on its feet for ring announcer@Michael_Buffer’s pre-match introductions. As Hall and Nash sauntered to the ring for The Hostile Takeover match, Buffer set the scene with theatrical aplomb: “Ladies and gentleman, at this time, let me introduce the men whose plan and goal is to takeover the WCW with force and hostility. We were told there would be three of these interlopers, and I must apologize as I have been informed - as you can see - there are only two. Ladies and gentleman, introducing...the Outsiiiiiders!” In a moment that played off perfectly on television, Sting’s entrance music began - and quickly ended - as ‘Mean Gene’ Okerlund traipsed cautiously into the ring. After exchanging quizzical looks with Buffer and referee Randy Anderson, Okerlund confronted the Outsiders to get some answers, an inspired plot device designed to build the tension even further. “Gentleman,” began Okerlund, “if I could have your attention...I don’t have police protection with me at this time, but I wanna confront you in front of this full house here at the Ocean Center, and millions of others watching across the country and around the world. I don’t see three men here tonight. Where is your partner?” Responding in a manner consistent with their WWF characters, Hall and Nash assured Okerlund that the third man was present - and ready. “Let me tell you something,” announced a confident Nash, “we got enough to handle it right now, right here.” Once more, Sting’s entrance music blared from the arena speakers, this time preceding the man himself, accompanied by Luger and Savage. “Here we go!” screamed color commentator Bobby Heenan as the wrestlers passed an unusually large contingent of security personnel on the entrance way. “The war is on!” Less than two minutes into the bout, Luger collapsed to the outside, a move in accordance with Nash’s plan to even the sides before the climactic reveal. “Now it’s two against two!” yelled Heenan. After a brief delay, the concerned crowd looked on as Luger left the arena on a stretcher, leaving Sting and Savage alone to fight valiantly for WCW. As the match progressed, the contemptible Outsiders used every trick to stall their opponent’s momentum, until a revitalized Savage began a furious rally at the fifteen-and-a-half minute mark. The invaders were suddenly down, but not out - as with the referee distracted, Nash landed a low-blow to bring the Macho Man to his knees. All four men lay on the canvas, exhausted, as referee Anderson started a ten count. As Anderson yelled ‘ONE’, several rows of spectators rose to their feet. Within seconds, the reaction diffused from section to section, the noise level increasing with each passing beat. On the live broadcast, viewers at home caught glimpse of a familiar figure making his way down the ramp. “Hulkamania!” screamed Dusty Rhodes on commentary while Hogan walked methodically towards the ring. Noticeably, the Hulkster seemed oddly disaffected - even out-of-character - but after exchanging the briefest of glances with the crowd, he continued stride with the din reaching fever pitch. “Whose side is he on?” bellowed Heenan, a question that seemed inexplicable given the history of Hogan’s on-screen persona. “Whose side is he on?” repeated Heenan, who as longtime fans could recall, had opposed Hogan for years as a manager in the WWF. For that reason, the comment flew over the heads of most (but not all) viewers; meanwhile, the live crowd was cheering as if their team had won the World Series. Nash and Hall retreated to the floor as Hogan tore off his shirt, an apparent signal that the archetypal good guy was here to save the day again. “Who’s bad now boys?” taunted play-by-play man Tony Schiavone on commentary, confident that WCW’s honor was no longer in jeopardy. Savage lay prone on the mat as Hogan surveyed the scene. Above the cheapest of cheap seats, peeking through a curtain with palpable anticipation, was Eric Bischoff. “I knew that something big was about to happen,” he recalls. “It was either gonna be a big failure, or a big success.” Seemingly out of nowhere, with his unsuspecting devotees enveloped in celebration, Hulk backed up to the corner. With the coldness of a serial killer, the once-honorable hero shockingly shoved referee Anderson, and executed his patented finishing move - the leg drop - to the helpless Macho Man below. The audience became completely, utterly unglued. “I was standing back with the announcers,” remembers Michelle Baines, newly hired as a production assistant. “One of the producers turned to me and said, ‘you need to go to the back’. “‘I said, ‘what do you mean?’ “She said, ‘it’s gonna get ugly real quick’.” “She was right - the crowd turned ugly quick.” In retrospect, it was clear that even as Hogan’s body approached the canvas - contact with Savage just milliseconds away - the gravity of the assault started to hit home. “What has he done?” questioned a crestfallen Rhodes, “is he the third man? What the hell is going on here?” Heenan was even more direct - “Hulk Hogan has betrayed WCW! He is the third man in this picture!” A breathless Schiavone could barely muster more than three words: Oh My God, he repeated. Oh My God, he continued, as Hogan high-fived a grinning Hall and Nash. The courageous Sting, stumbling to his feet to stop the injustice, was quickly dispatched, and in the coup de grace, Hogan tossed Anderson to the floor. Sardonically, he covered Savage for the pin, the contest now clearly a farce. “I hope you love it,” a disappointed Rhodes wailed on commentary. “You just sold your soul to the devil.” The third man was a mystery no more, and Hall, Nash, and Hogan raised their hands in victory to a genuinely astonished audience. The immediate outrage, which first gave way to shock, was now inspiring unmitigated rage. Simultaneously, the evil trio continued to taunt, pose, and antagonize while the announcers lamented WCW’s future. As Sting and Savage hobbled back to the locker room, a visibly distraught Okerlund returned to conduct an explanatory interview, based around the one Hogan and Bischoff had mapped out earlier. “Mean Gene,” commanded Hogan, “the first thing you need to do is to tell these people to shut up if you wanna hear what I gotta say.” For the next four minutes, Hogan rationalized his turn with remarkable clarity. “The first thing you gotta realize, brother, is this right here is the future of wrestling. You can call this the new...world...order of wrestling. These two men right here came from a great big organization up north, and everybody was wondering who the third man was. Well, who knows more about that organization than me, brother? I made that organization a monster. I made people rich up there. I made the people that ran that organization rich up there. And when it all came to pass, the name Hulk Hogan, the man Hulk Hogan, got bigger than the whole organization!” Bischoff watched from his secretive seat in amazement - he had not seen, nor had anyone, this intensity of emotion on display at a wrestling show before. It was almost as if the assembled masses had lost themselves in the performance, perhaps even forgetting, if only for a moment, that they were witnesses to a pre-determined event. Hogan’s actions had ostensibly interrupted their critical faculties; in other words, they had suspended their disbelief by reacting to the incident as if it were real. Moreover, the shock was manifesting in the most volatile ways imaginable, as in an incident edited out of future showings of the pay-per-view, a rather large man, likely intoxicated, ran into the ring before being knocked down by Hall and Nash. Concurrently, a stream of debris rained down from the stands, with one object hitting Okerlund, and the rest filling the ring in a stunningly unique visual. Hogan continued as the trash piled up around him, even referencing Ted Turner in his diatribe: “Billionaire Ted promised me movies brother. Billionaire Ted promised me millions of dollars. And Billionaire Ted promised me world caliber matches. And as far as Billionaire Ted, Eric Bischoff, and the entire WCW goes, I’m bored brother! That’s why I want these two guys here, these so-called Outsiders. These are the men I want as my friends. They are the new blood of professional wrestling, and not only are we going to take over the whole wrestling business...with Hulk Hogan, the new blood and the monsters with me, we will destroy everything in our path, Mean Gene.” “Look at all the crap in this ring,” responded Okerlund. “This is what’s in the future for you if you want to hang around the likes of this man Hall, and this man Nash.” Hogan raised his finger as if to stop the interviewer midstream, the perfect line instantly coming to mind. “As far as I’m concerned, all this crap in the ring represents these fans out here,” he boomed defiantly. “For two years, I held my head high,” ranted Hogan, alluding to his rather uninspired WCW tenure. “I did everything for the charities. I did everything for the kids. And the reception I got when I came out here, you fans can stick it brother! Because if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, you people wouldn’t be here. If it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff would still be selling meat from a truck in Minneapolis. And if it wasn’t for Hulk Hogan, all of these ‘Johnny come latelys’ that you see out here wrestling wouldn’t be here. I was selling the world out, brother, while they were bumming gas to put in their car to get to high school!” In closing, Hogan foreshadowed the future state of affairs in WCW with a prophetic preview of coming storylines: “With Hulk Hogan and the new world organization of wrestling, brother...me and the new blood by my side...whatcha gonna do when the new world organization runs wild on you? Whatcha gonna do? What are you gonna do??” Despite mistakenly bungling the ‘new world order’ phrase at the conclusion of his speech, Hogan still provided the perfect punctuation to a sensational heel turn. His promo, inarguably the most dynamic of his career, came across as strikingly authentic (“it felt real, because it was real’,” offered a proud Eric Bischoff upon reflection years later). On commentary, Schiavone - who most inspiredly suggested that Hogan had planned to double-cross WCW all along, since his debut in 1994 no less - added to the realism with some mournful final comments: “We have seen the end of Hulkamania,” he grieved. “Hulk Hogan, you can go to hell! We’re outta here. Straight to hell.” ---- To the layman, there appeared an obvious explanation for the feverous crowd response that accompanied Hogan’s turn. Clearly, the element of surprise - one of the key elements of Nitro’s success - had been exploited to a masterful degree (“nobody on earth thought that the third man was going to be Hulk Hogan,” highlights Nash). To Kevin Sullivan, however, there were several layers of story at play. “People thought that it was an invasion from the WWF,” he begins, implying that the success of the angle could be correlated to its realism. “They really bought into it, and when Hogan turned heel...they were sure of it. “So while Hogan gets the credit for the reaction, it was [Nash and Hall] who set the whole thing up. Those guys built the foundation of heat, and when Hogan came down, it just blew up.” “We were red hot coming off WWF television,” agrees Nash, “and then you had the biggest turn in the world on top of that. The biggest babyface of all-time finally turned heel!” To the ever-meticulous Sullivan, always a keen observer of the nuances present in a wrestling angle, an often overlooked element was also noteworthy. “He did it to Randy [Savage],” the booker emphasizes, speaking of Hogan’s betrayal. “People knew there was real-life heat there. That helped out too, but everyone played an intricate part. “Lightning...you can’t catch it in a bottle but one time.” The above is an excerpt from the book, NITRO: The Incredible Rise and Inevitable Collapse of Ted Turner's WCW. Amazon USA: Amazon UK: Amazon Canada: Amazon Australia: 17+ Hour Audiobook Available at Audible and Apple Books Audible USA: Audible UK: Audible Canada: Audible Australia: Apple Books: Ultimate NITRO Bundle: Deep Cuts - Wrestling Stories in 60 Seconds! David Penzer AdFreeShows.com 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff On This Day in WWE Allan Conrad the Mortgage Guy IandrewDiceClay WCW Archive Because WCW WCW4Life ᴀʀᴅᴀ Öᴄᴀʟ 90s WWE Secrets of WCW Nitro #WCW #nWo #HulkHogan #BashattheBeach #HeelTurn #Wrestling #WrestlingBooks #OTD #WWE #WorldChampionshipWrestling #Nitro

WCWNitroBook

53,506 views • 2 months ago

The tragedy of Zimbabwean politics is that there is reality, and then there are aspirations, aspirations that often drift into political delusions that hope for miracles. Too often, our people choose the latter. Instead of confronting the hard political realities before us, they cling to the hope that events will somehow unfold in their favour miraculously, regardless of the evidence saying otherwise. I have listened carefully to Vice President General Constantino Chiwenga’s latest remarks, given to us through a parable of Lazarus and the other biblical analogies he has shared at different intervals. He has demonstrated that he understands religion, reads the Bible extensively, and is comfortable using scripture to communicate political ideas and messages to the Zimbabwean citizenry. That, however, does not change our political reality. In 2017, General Chiwenga successfully marshalled the military, worked hand in glove with other senior figures within the security establishment, mobilised ordinary citizens onto the streets with the help of the opposition, and carried out the military coup that removed former president Robert Mugabe from power after forcing him to write a resignation letter with a gun over his head. Today, however, General Chiwenga faces a far steeper challenge because Zimbabweans are deeply disillusioned by what followed. Fairly or unfairly, many do not see what happened after November 2017 simply as Mnangagwa’s project. They see it as General Chiwenga’s military intervention because he was the Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces who executed it; he was the poster boy of the military coup. Zimbabwean citizens jokingly called him General Bae. “Bae” is an affectionate term for someone you love or care about deeply. Whether one agrees with that assessment or not, that General Chiwenga bears responsibility for what followed the coup is a political perception that remains ingrained in the country’s memory. Anything that emerged from that military coup inevitably falls, to some extent, on his shoulders. That leaves him with an enormous task if he hopes to redeem himself politically. His biggest challenge is that, unlike Robert Mugabe, President Emmerson Mnangagwa is an exceptionally patient, calculating, and tactical politician who plans years ahead of eventual execution, and who does so ruthlessly, without any mercy for his political opponents. Today, we are confronted with Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3, which is now on President Mnangagwa’s desk awaiting his signature. Once enacted, it will, barring a political miracle, effectively extinguish Chiwenga’s path to the presidency and also extinguish the little prospect of an opposition president. But this story did not begin in 2026. It began in 2021 with Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 2, which abolished the running mate clause. That provision would have significantly strengthened General Chiwenga’s prospects of automatically succeeding President Mnangagwa. When Amendment No. 2 was introduced, I argued that it was unmistakable evidence that President Mnangagwa had no intention whatsoever of handing over power to Chiwenga. As usual, because many people preferred comforting illusions to uncomfortable facts, many disagreed with that political assessment. Some within ZANUPF accused me of talking political nonsense. Others insisted that Mnangagwa and Chiwenga were inseparable political brothers who would always work together. Even sections of the opposition dismissed my political analysis, arguing that Mnangagwa would never have the political capacity to sideline Chiwenga because powerful forces would stop him. Reality has partly answered that debate. The results are before us. The so-called forces have not been able to stop him so far. Today, the Vice President increasingly relies on biblical parables to communicate his political messaging while Mnangagwa steadily and ruthlessly tightens his grip on every important lever of state power. The military itself illustrates this shift. The Zimbabwe National Army is now commanded by Major General Walter Tapfumaneyi. His rise is politically significant to the story so far and to where the story might take us as it continues to unfold. General Tapfumaneyi left the army as a colonel after falling out with the military establishment during General Chiwenga’s tenure as Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. He was made a Brigadier General upon retirement from the army. He joined the Central Intelligence Organisation, where he rose to become Deputy Director-General. He also commanded Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ), the organisation widely associated with supporting President Mnangagwa’s electoral machinery during the 2023 elections. When President Mnangagwa returned him to the Zimbabwe National Army, he was promoted to the rank of Major General. He leapfrogged several Major Generals who had served longer at that rank when he was appointed Commander of the Zimbabwe National Army. President Mnangagwa was now building the army in his own desired image and dismantling General Chiwenga’s army management network. His appointment strengthened Mnangagwa’s influence over one of the country’s most important institutions, the military. He was appointed after President Mnangagwa fired General Chiwenga’s right-hand man, General Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe, who had been the commander who supervised the 2017 coup when he was commander of the Presidential Guard. He was appointed as Sports Minister, replacing Kirsty Coventry. Today’s Presidential Guard presents a similar picture. It has also been reshaped to suit President Mnangagwa’s political pursuits. The same formation that played a decisive role during the 2017 military intervention, then commanded by Colonel Anselem Sanyatwe before his subsequent promotion to Brigadier General, is today under a commander aligned with Mnangagwa. Major General Fidelis Mhonda, who commands today’s Presidential Guard, was promoted a few days ago to the rank of Major General, reinforcing the widespread perception that the Presidential Guard is now firmly within Mnangagwa’s sphere of influence and political control. Above them sits the Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Emmanuel Matatu, from the Midlands province. Unlike Chiwenga during his tenure, General Matatu has generally not been viewed as an overt political operator. His role has largely been seen as maintaining institutional continuity rather than building an independent political constituency within the military, as General Chiwenga did during his time in the army. Taken together, these developments are seen by President Mnangagwa and his close associates as significantly reducing the prospects of another military coup to remove him. Over time, President Mnangagwa has systematically reshaped the senior military command structure. Military officers perceived to be close to Chiwenga have either retired, died, been reassigned, or gradually lost influence, while others considered more acceptable to Mnangagwa have risen through the ranks. Whether intentional or simply the natural evolution of military succession, the result has been the steady consolidation of presidential influence over the security establishment, weakening General Chiwenga’s influence. Meanwhile, many Zimbabweans have begun looking to Chiwenga for a viable counterforce because they see little prospect of meaningful change emerging from the fragmented opposition. Yet Chiwenga’s recent biblical parable appears to carry a different message. Rather than suggesting that salvation will come through him and his military associates alone, he seems to be telling Zimbabweans that they must act for themselves instead of waiting for someone else to rescue them. If that is indeed his message, it presents a political dilemma. Zimbabweans have repeatedly been encouraged to “wait and watch,” with suggestions that decisive, overwhelming action was imminent. Now they are being reminded that they themselves must participate. The difficulty is that many Zimbabweans remain traumatised by the state’s historical response to public demonstrations using the same military. When Chiwenga commanded the Zimbabwean military, those who protested often encountered overwhelming force. In August 2018, when he had become Vice President, soldiers shot civilians during post-election protests in Harare. The global media and British politicians like Kate Hoey directly blamed General Chiwenga for those killings because of Zimbabwe’s army history of dabbling in politics. Emmerson Mnangagwa’s public relations machine kicked into action and blamed General Chiwenga when speaking to diplomats and international businessmen about the circumstances surrounding what had taken place. A very powerful narrative was created that pointed to General Chiwenga as the culprit. President Mnangagwa told African presidents that when the killings took place, he was actually in a meeting with the former Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn and the former Ethiopian dictator, Mengistu Haile Mariam. In 2008, while he was Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, the military killed hundreds of opposition supporters during the post-election violence that ultimately led to the formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU). Those events remain deeply embedded in the political memory of Zimbabwean citizens. Consequently, many Zimbabweans today are understandably reluctant to return to the streets for fear of being killed. Ironically, it is a political environment that Chiwenga himself helped create. Successful military interventions that seek public legitimacy usually require significant civilian mobilisation. Unless one is contemplating an outright seizure of power through force alone, public participation matters. Today, however, fear has largely replaced mobilisation. Across Zimbabwe and throughout the diaspora, many people hold General Chiwenga partly responsible for the political situation the country now finds itself in. They argue that in 2017 he possessed both the military authority and the political leverage to shape Zimbabwe’s future differently. Former president Robert Mugabe sent former central bank governor Dr Gideon Gono during the coup in November 2017 to engage General Chiwenga and other senior military officers with proposals that would have allowed General Chiwenga himself to assume power. General Chiwenga refused this offer and remained loyal to President Emmerson Mnangagwa during the coup. President Mnangagwa, by contrast, has demonstrated unwavering commitment to securing his own political future in a ruthless and Machiavellian way. Every major constitutional change, every strategic appointment, and every restructuring of the security establishment point in the same direction. His political objectives have been pursued with remarkable political discipline, patience, and clarity, coupled with an iron fist. Regardless of how objectionable his actions have been, he continues to execute them, and so far he has been succeeding. That is why I return to where I began. Zimbabwean politics has become a contest between reality and aspiration or delusion. Many continue to believe that somehow events will take a different course through a political messiah despite the evidence accumulating before them. But politics rewards those who deal with reality and political actors who are not scared of executing their plans, regardless of how controversial they are. It does not reward those who substitute objective reality with hope. Whatever one thinks of President Emmerson Mnangagwa or General Constantino Chiwenga, the evidence available today points overwhelmingly in one direction. Mnangagwa has spent years methodically consolidating power, while many of his opponents have spent those same years believing circumstances would somehow change in their favour. The other element that helped the ascension of President Emmerson Mnangagwa was the main opposition political party of the day, the MDC. Former Prime Minister and founding MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his successor, Nelson Chamisa, worked with Mnangagwa in sanitising the coup by putting their supporters on the streets to make it look like it was a popular uprising against the sickly geriatric leader, Robert Mugabe. Today, the opposition is in disarray, crippled and, in many cases, comfortably ensconced in ZANUPF pockets. To put it more accurately, it is in Emmerson Mnangagwa’s pockets. The country’s most popular opposition leader, Nelson Chamisa, has also made his position clear through one of his own parables on social media. In a recent post, he suggested that he would not allow himself to be made to write Paper Two, in other words, another military coup. His argument is based on the fact that the first military coup delivered nothing but grief for the opposition. The opposition was promised a lot of things and as the coup ended successfully, former Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa told Zimbabweans that it was a strictly ZANUPF affair. Chamisa believes that repeating the same approach, when there is already evidence of what the first coup produced, would be politically futile. He is therefore clearly not prepared to marshal his supporters onto the streets on behalf of one ZANUPF faction against another because he sees this primarily as an internal ZANUPF power struggle as he sees it. Another important element is that President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been able to create massive wealth through public procurement for a coterie of loyal political backers. That wealth has played a significant role in securing political favours, consolidating power, and extending influence across many facets of Zimbabwean society. Mnangagwa loyalists have publicly donated luxury vehicles and other expensive gifts to senior military commanders, universities, churches, celebrities, and many related key institutional figures. In the religious sector, which has millions of fanatic followers, influential church leaders have received financial support and gifts. In the entertainment industry, prominent musicians such as Jah Prayzah, Alick Macheso, and others have also received gifts from wealthy Mnangagwa loyalists who openly support President Mnangagwa’s political agenda to extend his term of office. Taken together, these patronage networks have helped consolidate political influence well beyond the structures of the state itself. The odds facing the Vice President are therefore enormous. Barring a miracle, his path to the presidency appears increasingly very difficult. The irony is that part of the political architecture he helped build over the past two decades has created the very climate of fear that now stands in his way. If he were ever to seek public mobilisation, many Zimbabweans would be reluctant to take to the streets because of the state’s historical response to protests, much of which occurred while he occupied positions of immense power in the security sector. The other risk is that, if nothing changes, he could eventually be dismissed. Some of his ardent supporters like Knox Chivero have already gone onto public social media platforms claiming that there are plans to remove him from office. That possibility does not surprise political analysts at all. At some point, Mnangagwa may conclude that there is little political value in retaining a deputy whom he believes has been politically and militarily neutralised. Many political analysts now say, barring a political miracle powered by a military coup, Chiwenga could ultimately find himself leaving office as an ordinary civilian. Any attempt to remove a government through a military coup carries enormous risks and requires tonnes of money, as we saw with the 2017 military coup, which was reportedly funded by fuel tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei. Such an attempt must succeed because, historically, failed coups often have severe, and sometimes fatal, consequences for those who participate in them. It is a kill-or-be-killed situation once it unfolds. So, Vice President Chiwenga finds himself in an extraordinarily difficult position. His own faction is looking to him to lead and deliver. At the same time, many opposition supporters who now feel politically orphaned, with no credible political home, are also looking to him in the hope that he can bring about change but are terrified of the streets. As all this drama unfolds, President Emmerson Mnangagwa continues to tighten his grip on power. Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 now sits on his desk awaiting his signature, and it could be signed into law at any moment. Yet, for General Chiwenga, this is a make-or-break moment. If the Bill is signed into law and the General does nothing, many will conclude that his political presidential ambitions have come to an undignified end. If he attempts to act and fails, he could place himself in mortal danger. And if he simply waits, the political outcome may ultimately be the same, he risks being removed once Mnangagwa concludes that he no longer serves a useful political purpose. Time, as always, will be the ultimate judge. Reality and aspiration are now facing each other, and we have not a long time left for the ultimate showdown, or, as many suspect, little resistance.

Hopewell Chin’ono

105,827 views • 2 months ago

Civilian tails speeding CHP officer calls him out that nobody is above the law. ​While traveling southbound on California Highway 99, a driver named Matt spotted CHP Officer Felix Lara flying down the highway at speeds exceeding 90 to 95 mph. Lara was in civilian clothing, driving an unmarked cruiser, and running with zero emergency lights or sirens activated. When Matt began pacing him with the entire situation on his dash camrea to document the driving, Officer Lara aggressively braked onto the shoulder, maneuvered behind Matt, and initiated a traffic stop. ​Before approaching the driver's window, Lara had to retrieve his tactical vest just to identify himself as law enforcement. When Matt directly challenged him on why he was doing 95 mph without going Code 3, Officer Lara threw out the excuse of maintaining "patrol speed," claiming driving the 70 mph limit would cause traffic congestion. ​Under California Vehicle Code § 21055, emergency vehicles are only legally exempt from speed limits and traffic rules when actively responding to an emergency call or pursuing a violator, and only while utilizing their audible sirens and lighted emergency lamps. Lara met none of those conditions. In response to being filmed and called out for reckless driving, Lara wrote Matt a citation for allegedly going 85 mph, tacked on an infraction for a missing physical insurance card, and hit the driver with classic road-side intimidation. ​Matt didn’t back down. He warned the officer on camera that the footage would be brought to court, and followed up by filing an official complaint with the CHP Central Division in Fresno. CHP Internal Affairs officially substantiated the misconduct complaint against Officer Lara. ​The ticket saga dragged out for months. CHP delayed filing the paperwork with the court for nearly five months. When the court date finally arrived, Officer Lara requested a continuance claiming he was on a call, and then failed to appear entirely for the rescheduled hearing. The judge dismissed all charges on the spot. ​Bad stops, retaliatory citations, and badge-heavy arrogance won't stand when citizens know their rights and keep the cameras rolling. This officer knows he was caught and instead ran from the situation vs trying to push forward. Good job by this guy for calling this officer out on his driving.

Giggling Ganon

30,433 views • 25 days ago

DC SWAMP EXPOSED. PART 1 - D.C. Blackmail: A Capitol Hill intern reveals how members of Congress are coerced to vote a certain way through blackmail and extortion after affairs & sex parties: “Cawthorn wasn’t lying neither” O’Keefe Media Group founder James O’Keefe has discovered that nothing is as it seems when it comes to Congress Members’ voting patterns, the staffers they hire, or their activity outside of Congress. Meet Titus Warren, a Democrat working for Republicans in Congress. These Republicans do not care about Warren’s political views or the potential of him tipping off the other side. In fact, Titus states that he “loves” Nancy Pelosi and believes that Donald Trump “needs to die.” Still, his employers don’t seem to care how he thinks. While Titus says he keeps these details to himself, he is “sure” that his boss knows his political views, considering the fact that a photo of Nancy Pelosi sits proudly on Titus’ desk. “Every time I see her, or we run into each other, you know, sometimes I’ll even go into her office, then I’ll just go in her candy bowl,” said Titus before confirming that Pelosi knows him and “loves” him as he “loves” her. Titus also boasted that he gets to attend “a lot of embassies and a lot of events at the White House” and that he loves Joe Biden. When asked how Republican constituents might respond to his viewpoints, Titus said, “If they do [care], they can kiss the crack of my ass because I don’t care.” What’s worse is that most Congressmen in D.C. don’t actually think for themselves but rely on staffers like Titus and their advisors to guide them in decision-making. Or they rely on outside influences, such as blackmail, which uses their sexual wrongdoings while “serving” the American people. Titus was able to provide us with good intel on the inner workings of Congress and how members of both parties are coerced to vote a certain way through what he called a vote “suggestion.” But these so-called suggestions aren’t suggestions at all; they are much more nefarious ways of blackmailing members of Congress who have engaged in affairs on their spouses or downright sex parties with other members, according to Titus. “There’s a lot of things that I see with my own eyes,” he told James O’Keefe. “Madison Cawthorn wasn’t lying neither,” said Titus as he explained that most Congress Members are married, but “they have affairs with other congresspeople… And they have like parties and stuff.” Titus then confirmed that these alleged parties get “hot and heavy.” Though he said he’s never gone to one of these parties or been invited, Titus contends “that is a fact” and an open secret. “It happens a lot more than people think,” he noted before telling us that he thought it was a fiction or a “joke” before he began working in Congress. “A majority of members that come late are 9/10 times hungover from the [sex parties] the night before,” Titus added. These parties are then used to gain leverage over the officials to pressure them to vote for the Swamp’s preferred policy and against unfavorable policy. But this leverage is not only used to change votes in Congress. It seemingly applies to election season, too, as Titus explains, “If you ever run for office, and you’ve been where I am, you would use that as leverage to win your campaign.” As reported by The Gateway Pundit, Madison Cawthorn revealed in March 2022 that he was invited to a “sexual get-together” or an “orgy” at a D.C. elite’s home. He also alleged that “some of the people leading on the movement to try and remove addiction in our country” were often doing cocaine right in front of him. This caused a stir within the House of Representatives. Cawthorn was then smeared as a liar, threatened with consequences by then-Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and removed from Congress in the next election. We reached out to Madison Cawthorn for his reaction to Titus’ bombshell assertions: CAWTHORN: “Well, I mean, I’ve never been to a party like this; I got invited to them. My instant reaction to that is, you know, especially the blackmail piece that it seemed like this individual was talking about in this piece, that’s something that I experienced firsthand. It’s kind of a laden threat. It’s kind of just an understood thing in Washington. It’s not something that’s ever really said to you, but it’s well known that people can always have leverage points on you.” “People only want to put you in compromising situations so that they can have leverage over you so they can control your vote.” Titus said the media either does not know about this blackmail scheme or “they’re not allowed to run these stories.” It would seem more likely the latter. Titus further related this sexual conduct in Congress to former Democrat Staffer Aidan Maese-Czeropski, who was terminated by Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) after the staffer’s hardcore gay sex tape filmed in the Hart Senate Office Building surfaced. “That actually did not happen the day it came out,” said Titus, indicating that the sex tape was filmed months earlier and used as leverage against Senator Cardin or Aidan Maese-Czeropski. When asked if he feels guilty about what he sees in Congress or being a secret Democrat working in a Republican office, Titus responded, “I get my check, and I’m good,” while stipulating his lust for buying expensive items such as Louis Vuitton handbags and fashion accessories from other high-end stores like Chanel. “All my money that I’m saving now is for me to go to the Hamptons every weekend of the Summer.” While shopping at Burberry and David Yurman, two high-end fashion stores in Washington, D.C., Titus told us more about the D.C. sex parties, saying, “It’s not a conspiracy.” He continued, “It most definitely happens. And It’s normal.” Surprisingly, when asked outside of the jewelry store, David Yurman, Titus did not recognize James O’Keefe or realize that everything he told us was being recorded. If you are an insider in Washington, D.C., you can contact us on Signal or join us on our weekly X-Space titled “On The Inside With James O’Keefe” from 4 pm to 6 pm ET. Sign up to be an undercover journalist with The American Swiper Program at this link. Watch below and stay tuned for more of our undercover journalism from Washington, D.C.

James O'Keefe

3,284,023 views • 2 years ago

Burna Boy is trending because nigerian influencers are struggling to redeem his image after Americans threaten canceling the singer after he humiliated a fan recovering from trauma. “I no send you to be my fan. It pisses me the fk up, you are sleeping. wallahi i won’t perform any more until you go home.“ On November 12th, while performing at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, US. Burna spotted a lady sleeping. Then asked her and her man to leave his show, cos’ it pisses him how anyone would be sleeping while he performed. The couple were initially reluctant, but Burna insisted he wouldn’t perform any other song until they left. With all eyes on them, they were embarrassingly escorted out. Americans didn’t take it likely. Because it turned out, the lady had just lost her daughters dad and it was the first time she stepped out, attempting to move on from the trauma. According to the person claiming to be her, Chaltu Jalteny. She added that Burna Boy arrived late, so she was tired and he could have handled it better instead of humiliating her, despite the money she paid. After Chaltu’s response, according to reports Burna Boy’s other show ticket sales tanked. Burna doubled down and called it “Agenda.” And he doesn’t care. Eminem also condemned his actions. Burna boy reacted saying, he didn’t care, that he’s not a stripper you’d just throw money at and do whatever you want. And even even cancer survivors, don’t sleep at his shows. Burna compared his actions to student and school fees, plane ticket and emergency deboarding. It’s been two weeks yet more Americans are still speaking against him. Today, some twitter NG influencers suddenly started speaking nicely about Burna, but tweeps clocked it as PR. Burna‘s fans insist it’s indeed an agenda because he’s still selling out venues. Others think it’s just a stunt ahead of a new project roll out. This is not the first time Burna boy is kicking out fans. He was returned a fans ticket fee and bounced him cos’ he wasn’t passing the vibe check. Follow Trending Explained for dailies.

Trending Explained

138,357 views • 9 months ago

Churches, protests, and bribes: Hichilema’s triple power play to secure Edgar Lungu’s body By Sishuwa Sishuwa So committed to telling lies is President Hakainde Hichilema that he seemingly either cannot help himself or experiences a “high” when deceiving others. I know that politicians are generally perceived to be liars, but such is Hichilema’s uncontrollable urge to lie, often compulsively and without any apparent reason or benefit, that one can be forgiven for thinking that delivering lies was one of his major campaign promises in the last general election. In countries with robust oversight institutions, the President would have already been subjected to a thorough evaluation by professional experts to determine if he has pseudologia fantastica, also known as mythomania – a condition in which individuals frequently tell lies, often for no clear reason. The latest in the long running series of the President’s constant deviation from the truth occurred on 17 July 2025 when he told journalists that his administration is “quietly” holding negotiations with the family of late former president Edgar Lungu aimed at resolving the impasse between the two parties regarding Lungu’s burial. This is the second time in the preceding two weeks alone that Hichilema has made this claim. The first was on 9 July when he met US Ambassador to Zambia Michael Gonzales at State House. On both occasions, the President has been untruthful. I have spoken with the Lungu family, and they have confirmed that there have been no discussions whatsoever between the two parties since Hichilema's administration initiated the court case that stopped Lungu's burial nearly a month ago, on 24 June 2025. Why then does the President keep telling lies on this matter? What prevents him from telling the truth even on straightforward issues where his lies can more easily be uncovered? In search of answers, I reached out to different sources in government and at State House for insights. The sources, who spoke to me on condition of anonymity and provided irrefutable evidence in support of their insights, revealed that the President, fearful that the Pretoria High Court might rule against the Zambian government because the South African law is on the side of a deceased’s family, has devised a strategy consisting of three elements aimed at preventing this outcome and securing the elusive access to his predecessor’s body. The first element of this plan is to persuade the influential Catholic Church to release a statement urging the Lungu family to agree to a mediated settlement that would allow the former president to be buried in Zambia. While some religious and civic groups have already been pressured to make similar appeals, the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) has not yet done so. Hichilema believes that a statement from the ZCCB would carry more weight. To achieve this goal, the President sent a four-member, high-ranking government delegation to meet with the ZCCB in Lusaka on 18 July 2025. The presidential delegation, consisting of Minister of Defence Ambrose Lufuma, Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security Jack Mwiimbu, Minister of Community Development and Social Services Doreen Mwamba, and Special Assistant to the President for Legal Affairs Christopher Mundia – all practising Catholics – met with three representatives of the ZCCB, namely Ignatius Chama (Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kasama and President of ZCCB), George Lungu (Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Chipata), and Valentine Kalumba (Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Livingstone). During the meeting, Hichilema's representatives expressed concern that the Catholic Church had not issued a statement on the impasse between his administration and the Lungu family. Embracing the pathological lying disposition of their boss, the delegation also mentioned that negotiations between the State and the Lungu family were progressing, and the government hoped the Catholic Church would participate in the discussions. One or two members of Hichilema’s delegation in the meeting reportedly said: “since Archbishop Alick Banda appears to be close to the Lungu family, how can we get him to intervene in this matter and help us?” To be clear, Banda is the Archbishop in charge of Lusaka Archdiocese whom the ruling party has previously called a “thief”, the “Lucifer of Zambia”, and a man with no credibility. In addition, the Catholic Church has itself been the subject of regular attacks and harassment from both State actors and ruling party officials. In response, the Bishops explained that they have stayed away from the matter because they do not have sufficient knowledge of the underlying facts and only comment on issues they fully understand. The Bishops also expressed hope that the issue would be resolved conclusively since it is now before a competent authority – the South African High Court. Given the despicable attacks that Hichilema’s administration has repeatedly unleashed on both Archbishop Banda and the Catholic Church in general, and in the absence of any public apology or atonement for this State harassment, it was unlikely that the Bishops would be deceived. However, one cannot blame Hichilema for trying his luck. The timing of this State-orchestrated meeting with representatives of the ZCCB was not coincidental. For much of this week, the Catholic Bishops have been meeting in Lusaka to, among other things, look at various issues affecting the membership of the church and the nation. Such meetings usually culminate in the release of a pastoral letter that is read out in parishes across the country. The sources disclosed that Hichilema’s fear is that a rebuke from the ZCCB on how his administration has handled Lungu’s funeral would be politically damaging, especially when one considers the other two elements of the strategy that the President has devised to secure access to his predecessor’s body. In dispatching his officials to meet the Catholic Bishops, Hichilema is not only lobbying the influential religious organisation to publicly support his cause based on the false impression that negotiations with the Lungu family have reached an advanced stage; he is also seeking to pre-empt the ZCCB’s possible criticism of his failure to provide leadership on a matter that has seen him use taxpayers’ money to sue a grieving family and halt a funeral that was underway. The second element of Hichilema’s strategy is to carefully orchestrate State-financed public protests in Lusaka, on the Copperbelt, in Eastern Province (Lungu's home area) and in other parts of Zambia to create the false impression of widespread public outrage against the decision by the Lungu family to lay the former president to rest in South Africa. The sources revealed that Hichilema has already set this plan in motion and is closely working with Robert Chabinga, a renegade member of parliament belonging to the main opposition Patriotic Front (PF) party. Chabinga, who is guarded by State police, is the MP that Hichilema’s administration – using the office of the Registrar of Societies which falls under Mwiimbu’s ministry – has installed as the government-recognised leader of the PF in the absence of an election. He has also been installed as Leader of the Opposition in Parliament by the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nelly Mutti, Hichilema’s former personal lawyer, though he was elected by no one. According to insiders, Hichilema had initially wanted Chabinga to join the court case in South Africa as Leader of the Opposition. After the President received advice against the move, he and his allies then hatched the plan to organise “mass public protests” across the country by placard-carrying ruling party supporters masquerading as PF members and Zambian nationalists demanding the return of Lungu’s remains so that he could be buried at home. The objective of these demonstrations would be to manufacture evidence of popular anger against the Lungu family's position, fabricate visible proof of “public interest” in Lungu’s funeral, and create the pretext that the government hopes it can use to persuade the South African judge to rule in its favour. These acts of “nationalism” would not be as they would seem, however. What would appear to be spontaneous demonstrations of widespread outrage would be carefully orchestrated by Hichilema as part of his power play to wrestle Lungu from exile in death and bolster his beleaguered presidency. For Chabinga, who remains at the helm of Zambia’s main opposition party because of the complicit role of the judiciary, delivering on this presidential aspiration would cement his State-backed illegal leadership of the PF and reduce the political costs that might befall Hichilema in next year’s election should Lungu be buried abroad. The third and final element of Hichilema’s strategy is to attempt to bribe the South African judge who is handling the legal case between the Zambian government and the Lungu family. Hichilema and his allies have resigned themselves to the possibility of losing the case. In private conversations, they admit that the law in South Africa favours the Lungu family and that if the Pretoria Court is allowed to decide the case based on the facts and law, the Zambian government is likely to lose. To avoid this almost certain outcome, Hichilema and his supporters have considered the option of bribing the judge presiding over the case. There is no evidence yet that an approach has been made, but Chabinga, who was recently in South Africa on a State-facilitated trip, has privately expressed confidence that the judge might be amenable to bribery. "The judge needs to eat", Chabinga was heard saying. If the planned mass demonstrations are successful, Hichilema's proxy added, "the judge will make a ruling based on the public outcry in Zambia...to support the Attorney General". The renegade PF MP further conceded that there is "a possibility that the judge can rule in favour of the Lungu family because the laws of South Africa give too much power to a deceased's family than to the government". He however reiterated his belief that if the judge is "pressured", aided with cooked up public protests, and made to "consider the fact that Lungu was a former president", the judicial official can rule in favour of the Zambian government. Chabinga and his backers know that attempting to bribe, in any way, a judge of a foreign country would be a major scandal that could adversely affect diplomatic relations between Zambia and South Africa. However, they seem determined to try their luck at implementing what Chabinga, in private conversations, calls a "special operation". Earlier, Chabinga had complained to his associates that he had been woken up by Hichilema at an ungodly hour to undertake, at short notice, the trip to Johannesburg but felt the need to sacrifice for the man he calls "ba boss". After briefing him about Hichilema's agenda for the "special operation", State actors had originally hoped to book Chabinga a seat on the first flight out of Lusaka, but he ended up traveling on a 10am Airlink flight. This followed a discovery that there were many prominent PF members on the earlier flight also traveling to South Africa. Ironically, even on the 10am flight, Hichilema's representative met several PF prominent figures such as Chanda Katotobwe, Nakiwe Simpungwe, and Christopher Shakafuswa who all greeted him and to whom he lied that he was traveling to Cape Town. It is important to clarify that the confidence of Hichilema's team that the affected judge might be open to bribery does not come from any personal knowledge of the justice handling the legal case. Rather, and as one of the sources stated, it stems from the knowledge that they have done similar things with some Zambian judges, particularly on matters involving the resolution of PF leadership wrangles, and got away with it. In private, Chabinga, for instance, acknowledges that a questionable judgement by the Pretoria High Court in favour of the Zambian government is likely to be reversed on appeal by a superior court. Nevertheless, the President's proxy is optimistic that the Lungu family will become fatigued by the time the verdict is delivered and ultimately consent to the return of the former president's body to Zambia rather than pursuing an appeal in the event of a dubious loss. The unfolding saga surrounding the burial of former president Lungu reveals more than a mere dispute over a final resting place. It exposes the depths to which political ambition can drive deception, manipulation, and ethical compromise. President Hichilema’s persistent falsehoods about negotiations, the planned orchestration of State-sponsored protests, and the alarming prospect of judicial bribery involving a foreign judge paint a troubling picture of governance undermined by desperation and duplicity. This strategy not only disrespects a grieving family but also erodes public trust in the institutions meant to uphold justice and truth. What began as a matter of state dignity and national closure has morphed into a volatile mix of political manoeuvring, public mobilisation, and devious ecclesiastical diplomacy. President Hichilema’s reported three-pronged strategy — courting the Catholic Church, rallying public protests, and attempting to sway a foreign court — suggests that the battle over Lungu’s body is about far more than burial rights. It is a symbolic struggle for control over Zambia’s political memory and moral authority. Whether these efforts succeed or backfire, they highlight a deeper crisis: the lingering divisions of Zambia’s political landscape and the extent to which historical rivals still cast long shadows over the present. In life and now in death, Lungu continues to provoke conflict, and President Hichilema appears determined to ensure that even in the afterlife, the final word belongs not to the Lungu family but to Hichilema himself. In a country that is yearning for transparency and integrity, such actions as the ones initiated by Hichilema highlight the urgent need for accountability at the highest levels of leadership. The true cost of this political theatre extends beyond the burial dispute; it threatens the moral fabric of Zambia itself. As citizens, observers, and custodians of democracy, we must demand honesty, respect for due process, and, above all, compassion in honouring – both in life and in death – those who have served the nation. No amount of spin or scheming can bury the truth forever. The nation watches and waits.

Sishuwa Sishuwa

69,112 views • 1 year ago