POKELLO CELEBRATES IN ITALY WHILE ZIMBABWEANS SUFFER BACK HOME

While many people in Zimbabwe are finding it hard to put food on the table, one of the president’s family members is living a life of luxury overseas. Pokello Nare, who is the daughter-in-law of President Emmerson Mnangagwa, recently celebrated her 40th birthday at Lake Como in Italy. This is a very expensive and beautiful place in Europe where the rich go to enjoy life.

People in Zimbabwe are struggling every day. Prices of basic things like mealie meal, bread, and cooking oil are too high. Some families are now eating only one meal per day. Others sleep without eating at all. Electricity goes for many hours, and water does not come for days in some places. Hospitals have no medicine. Teachers and nurses are paid too little and cannot take care of their families. Students are dropping out of school because their parents cannot afford the fees.

But while this is happening, Pokello was having fun in Italy. She shared pictures and videos on social media. In those pictures, she is seen wearing expensive clothes, eating fancy food, drinking wine, and enjoying boat rides in the clear blue waters of Lake Como. She stayed at a luxury resort, where the cost per night is more than what most Zimbabweans earn in a year. The place has private chefs, swimming pools, and top-class service.

Many people are asking where the money is coming from. Pokello is not known for having a big business that brings in millions. She used to run a shoe shop and is popular on social media, but that kind of work does not normally bring such a big amount of money to spend in places like Italy. What is clear is that she is connected to the first family through her marriage to one of President Mnangagwa’s sons.

Zimbabweans online were very angry. They shared their pain and frustration. Some said it is not fair for the leaders’ children to live large while the people suffer. Others said it shows that ZANU PF does not care about the ordinary citizen. They care about themselves and their families only. They loot state resources and use the money to live like kings and queens in other countries.

This is not the first time something like this has happened. Many people in government are sending their children to expensive schools overseas. They go to hospitals in South Africa or Dubai while local hospitals are falling apart. They buy expensive cars and build mansions, while civil servants sleep in one room with their families.

What Pokello did is a big insult to the people of Zimbabwe. She might think it is just a birthday trip, but it shows how disconnected the first family is from the real life of the people. A caring government would feel ashamed to show off such luxury while people are suffering.

We must speak out against this. It is not about Pokello alone, it is about the whole system. A system where the poor become poorer and the rich keep getting richer through corruption and abuse of power. Zimbabwe is not poor. It is badly managed. We have gold, diamonds, land, and hard-working people. But all these things are used to benefit a few at the top.

It is time for the youth to wake up. We must not allow this kind of leadership to continue. We need change. We need leaders who care for the people, not for foreign holidays and flashy lifestyles. Zimbabwe deserves better. We deserve leaders who feel our pain and fight for our future. Not ones who send their children to party in Europe while we cry at home.