Mange Kimambi strikes again…
Damage control goes haywire in an attempt to silence the Queen of Gossip
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Mange Kimambi is no stranger to Tanzanians and to many East Africans. Her rise from socialite to blogger has changed the dynamics of social media activism. However, since last week (beginning of April 2024), she has managed to create a communication crisis for CCM, Tanzania’s ruling party, and for President Samia Suluhu Hassan
Since I wrote the “Mange Kimambi effect” a lot has happened. Mange went from 1 million followers to 7.8 million followers (and continues to rise). She ditched blogging about politics on her Instagram page since the death of Magufuli and instead she has built an enterprise through her subscription based app. She has done very well for herself with over 500k downloads so far and ranked number two (# 2) top grossing in lifestyle in East Africa just on Google Play Store. She charges 2,000 Tanzanian shillings (about one US dollar) per month per subscriber.
Last year (August 2023), she bought her dream car — a Mercedes G-Wagon G 55 and thanked her followers for supporting her. And despite some having the impression that she is superficial, uneducated and coarse, however Mange is in fact an astute businesswoman, has her wits around her and knows much more than she lets on.
And now for the latest political drama, which started April 9th in East Africa when Mange Kimambi posted on her Instagram page that President Samia Suluhu Hassan is a lesbian. Mange coupled a number of criticisms but what caught on was her claim about the sexual orientation of Samia Suluhu. Instead of ignoring it or denying it, for over a week we have seen cabinet members, government officials line up to “address” the so-called insults and threaten harsh action against unnamed people. Of course, everyone knew that Mange was the intended target. Matters were made worse with the Arusha Regional Commissioner — who is Magufuli’s disgraced and blacklisted former Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Paul Makonda. Makonda has recently gotten back on the government band wagon after Samia Suluhu decided that he was fit for public office despite the US State Department sanctioning him and being highly unpopular with the masses. Makonda declared on 12th April 2024 that if “insults” against the President will not stop, he will make public the list of ministers who are sponsoring this smear campaign. Unfortunately for him, he made things worse as Mange has over the weekend provided an alleged list of lovers complete with photos and background information. At the time of writing of this article, Mange has been mass reported by CCM sycophants and her account on Instagram has been suspended.
But what Mange has managed to do is to get all sycophants and the government apparatus in panic mode . All CCM members, leaders and media editors were told to post photos and praises of Samia Suluhu. Even Diamond Platinum rushed to release a song for her. All this giving the impression of tribute to a departed person — not damage control.
As the idiom (attributed by some to Voltaire) goes, “I do not agree with a word that you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. This is what the case of Mange Kimambi is. Her right to say anything, however much we may disapprove of it, needs to be defended and countered within the confinements of basic human rights and rule of law. This is important because Tanzania is facing repression and lack of freedom of speech and expression which has led to the enforced disappearance of critics. Often the state or, as in the case of Mdude’s abduction, the abductors claim that they are punishing the critics for ‘insulting’ the president.
CCM’s calling Mange’s claims, insults and their desire to hurt her, is similar to what Stella Nyanzi was put through when she wrote a poem to President Museveni on his birthday and was later, tortured and detained.
Thin skinned politicians who use the full brute force of the state machinery to protect their fragile egos is reprehensible but hardly uncommon in Africa. So it is important that even if Mange’s style of presentation is not to our liking or approval, we still need to defend her right to say it. Thankfully she lives in the US and thus not reachable to state sanctioned goons who abduct, torture, and disappear critics.
Another point to remember for the CCM sycophants is that claiming that Samia Suluhu is a lesbian is not an “insult”. One is either LGBTQI or not. There is no way such claims can be categorized by American authorities or social media companies like Instagram as an insult. And since Samia Suluhu or her office has not denied nor confirmed this, it remains what it is — a claim. But definitely not a crime.
Mange has proven again that her influence is huge and her return to political blogging can be a turning point in an environment where Samia Suluhu’s favorability is plummeting fast. Mange found a way to get under Samia Suluhu’s and CCM’s skin where many of us failed through conventional advocacy. Despite some Western diplomats attempts to rebrand Samia Suluhu a reformist, she has done little to bring about reforms and brutally repressed the Maasai in Northern Tanzania. Her outlook for re-election next year is dismal unless she goes the brutish Magufuli way of 2020.
