The untold story of three youths who changed the course of Zimbabwe’s history

Paul Themba Nyathi, who quit active politics in 2015, said he had indeed joined talks with Goche. Their first meeting was very tense because Goche had reminded Nyathi that he had once called him an idiot in Parliament.

“It was true, that I had called him an idiot because at that point in time I found Goche absolutely irritating because he didn’t exhibit any signs of being aware of what was happening in his ministry because this was an extremely important ministry in the sense that it had to do with the security of the country and as well the security of individuals,” Nyathi recalled.

“I just found his demeanor and his responses quite underwhelming so I said as much and he took offence. He thought I was insulting him but I thought I was just making an honest assessment based on how he had performed.

“But anyway, I then I forgot that I had been uncharitable to him and his ministry so he reminded me when we met and we spent a bit of time mending fences (over a bottle of whisky and several pieces of beef) and declaring that let bygones be bygones, we have a current challenge which is an existential challenge for all of us,” the former teacher-turned politician said.

“I might have been unkind to him but I said what I felt strongly then. We then got along fine after that. We got along fine because we both understood that there was no reason for each one of us to keep tall around any issue.

“If I felt strongly about any particularly point I said so and he did the same which can be very useful in negotiations because then you don’t hide  sentiments, you don’t shy away from views, you don’t avoid difficulties and uncomfortable points that will require resolving but also can lead to the collapsing of the negotiations. So we started off on a good and sound footing because we decided we would call a spade a spade….

“If the truth be told I did not ever think that I would reach a point where I would be under the same roof with the likes of Kasukuwere. But you know, there is one thing about human beings. At a distance we all fear the unknown. But I can tell you if you were to drag Nelson Chamisa and Emmerson Mnangagwa, put them in a room, take away the keys and come back after 6 hours, first of all they will have discovered that they are very related. They will have discovered they shared girlfriends. They will have discovered other things that would make them less adversarial. It’s only when people break the barriers of contact that important things begin to happen.” Nyathi said.

As he hang up the phone, I found myself asking: Can today’s youths from ZANU-PF and MDC break the barriers of contact, start talking, and bring their leaders to the negotiating table?

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