Musician Ndunge Yut calls Temba Mliswa a “failed politician” and claims he owes him US$20,000

Zimdancehall musician Ndunge Yut has accused former Norton MP Temba Mliswa of owing him US$20,000 for shows he says were booked but never paid for, opening a new public dispute between the two.

Yut also called Mliswa a “failed politician”, accusing him of failing to deliver tangible results during his time in Parliament while spending time criticising government officials and religious figures like Prophet Uebert Angel.

He further challenged Mliswa’s public comments about women, suggesting the former legislator should stay silent on the subject.

The US$20,000 claim and Yut’s criticism of Mliswa’s parliamentary record have not been independently verified. The material available for this report does not include a response from Mliswa.

The dispute has a public entertainment connection: The Herald reported in 2024 that Yut was among the supporting acts at a Killer T show organised by Mliswa’s Bhuru Entertainment in Karoi.

*A history of public clashes with women*

Yut’s remarks touch on a recurring point of controversy in Mliswa’s public life: his comments about women and his widely discussed family life.

In 2018, female MPs protested after Mliswa said most women occupying Parliament’s proportional-representation seats “don’t do anything” and were known only for wearing make-up and wigs.

Then MP Jessie Majome said the remarks denigrated women MPs, while Tabitha Khumalo challenged Mliswa to justify his criticism. The Speaker ordered him to apologise. Mliswa said he was sorry “in the event that I offended anybody”.

His personal life has also drawn attention. In 2021, Mliswa publicly said he had 18 children with more than 10 women and spoke about wanting to grow his family.

In a later interview with Zigo, reported by Nehanda Radio, he said he was supporting about 20 children and that DNA tests had shown some were not biologically his. He said he would continue looking after them. The reported totals have varied over time and have included children under his care as well as those he says are biologically his.

Those disclosures have become part of the debate whenever Mliswa comments on women or relationships. Yut is now using that record to challenge the former MP’s standing to speak on the subject.

*Row with Uebert Angel began over Chiwenga*

Mliswa’s clash with Presidential Envoy and Ambassador-at-Large Uebert Angel arose from Angel’s defence of Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga.

At a church service, Angel condemned what he called “vitriolic attacks” on Chiwenga, while saying political criticism was legitimate. He warned, however, that “contempt masquerading as criticism” was evil, and argued that the public should take the President’s decision to retain Chiwenga as his deputy as a reason for restraint.

Mliswa responded with a lengthy social media post accusing Angel of using the pulpit to intervene in Zanu PF succession politics. He challenged Angel’s distinction between criticism and contempt, arguing that it could discourage people from scrutinising those in power. He also said Angel was defending Chiwenga while failing to address what Mliswa described as the Vice-President’s own conduct towards President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Mliswa questioned Angel’s prophetic credentials, arguing that predictions Angel had made about a future successor had not come to pass. He described the preacher as a “false prophet who became a praetorian” and accused him of factionalism. Those are Mliswa’s claims and characterisations, not independent findings.

Mliswa also called for Angel’s arrest over sexual-assault allegations previously reported by The Standard. The allegations have not been proven in court, and should not be treated as established fact.

*Why Mliswa was expelled from Zanu PF*

Mliswa was expelled from Zanu PF in February 2015, during Robert Mugabe’s presidency, after a party disciplinary process. The Politburo announcement said he had been found guilty of insubordination, disrespecting party leaders and disrupting meetings in Mashonaland West.

The party also accused him of interfering in the party’s youth and women’s leagues and of extortionist behaviour. These were the party’s stated grounds for expulsion.

The expulsion came amid bitter internal power struggles following the removal of Joice Mujuru as vice-president and the rise of a faction supporting Mnangagwa. Mliswa was associated with Mujuru’s camp. He and Didymus Mutasa challenged the legality of their expulsions, arguing that the party’s procedures had not been followed. The expulsion resulted in Mliswa losing his Hurungwe West parliamentary seat.

Mliswa later returned to Parliament as an independent, winning a 2016 by-election in Norton. His independent status did not prevent him from publicly supporting Mnangagwa, then Zanu PF leader and President.

*His relationship with Mnangagwa*

Mliswa has openly said that he and Mnangagwa are cousins on their paternal side. He has also publicly supported Mnangagwa, including during the 2018 election campaign, despite not being a Zanu PF member. In an interview with The Standard, he said people believed he was a “wolf in sheep’s skin” but argued that a person did not have to belong to Zanu PF to support its leader.

That family connection and his vocal backing of Mnangagwa have fuelled perceptions that Mliswa has presidential support or protection when he speaks out.

But the public record also shows that Mliswa has criticised Zanu PF and government figures, while Mliswa himself has rejected claims that he benefited from nepotism.

Yut’s latest attack therefore lands amid years of controversy around Mliswa’s political conduct, family life and outspoken interventions. Whether the US$20,000 dispute develops into a formal claim or receives a response from Mliswa remains unclear. *_-Nehanda Radio_*