Top stories October 26-31

Endai munobika doro Mnangangwa tells those trying to oust Mugabe-  Justice Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, reported to be one of the major contenders in the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, yesterday said t hose who want to oust President Robert Mugabe must ask their ancestral spirits why they have forsaken them. “There are those who have been possessed by the demons, the Legion from the Bible, who want to oust President Mugabe. They must be exorcised. If these people are there who have the same sentiments, endai munobika doro muudze mudzimu wenyu kuti ko munondirasireiko?’’ he told party supporters in Gweru. Mnangagwa called for unity among party supporters who are now deeply divided with one faction allegedly supporting Vice-President Joice Mujuru and the other Mnangagwa himself. Both Mujuru and Mnangagwa deny they lead any faction saying they are solidly behind Mugabe. But Mugabe’s wife, Grace, has been hammering on Mujuru for days claiming she is thoroughly corrupt and is bent on ousting her husband. Mujuru has responded that she will never be a sellout and does not understand why some people hate her and spread malicious lies about her.

More brakes in SK Moyo’s way

It appeared a given. Once chairman of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, the next step was to rise to Vice-President if a vacancy occurred. It happened to Joseph Msika then John Nkomo but people are now putting obstacles in Simon Khaya Moyo’s way with the most senior person from the former Zimbabwe African People’s Union, Naison Moyo, describing him as “just a schoolboy who takes minutes”. Ndlovu, who has pulled out of the race, has every reason to be bitter. He was outfoxed by John Nkomo who was his junior and again by SK Moyo. But Moyo is more of a victim of the succession squabbles in ZANU-PF where people from the former ZANU want to grab both the two Vice-President’s posts abandoning the tradition of having one from each of the former parties. And Mugabe is squarely to blame because he changed the delicate balance that had been maintained all along and, according to his wife, insisted that the other vice-president should be a woman. Within the old ZANU-PF, people are squabbling over whether Mujuru should retain her post or not. Grace Mugabe says she must go, but Mujuru seems to have substantial backing especially from those with business interests to protect. Moyo is not just a victim of squabbles within the old ZANU-PF but his former colleagues seem to have abandoned him as well. Though they are alleged to have endorsed him at a meeting last year, some of the senior party officials now claim they never backed him. Ndlovu went to the extent of saying the meeting itself was illegal because it was chaired by Cephas Msipa whom he claimed had left the former ZAPU. Time is running out for both Moyo and those who want to unseat him as there are now only seven weeks to the decisive congress. Everyone’s fate now seems to hang on the decision of the 10-member team appointed by the Politburo to supervise the Elective congress preparations. The team consists  Emmerson Mnangagwa (Midlands),  Sikhanyiso Ndlovu (Bulawayo), Cleveria Chizema (Harare), Dzikamai Mavhaire (Masvingo), Didymus Mutasa (Manicaland), Sydney Sekeramayi (Mashonaland East), Nicholas Goche (Mashonaland Central), Abigail Damasane (Matabeleland South), Obert Mpofu (Matabeleland North) and  Ignatius Chombo (Mashonaland West). If it is true that Vice-President Mujuru and Mnangagwa lead factions, then Mujuru appears to have an upper hand as majority of the members of the team seem to be from her faction.

Mugabe raps  ministers for travelling too much

President Robert Mugabe has rapped his ministers for travelling too much and doing very little practical work.  “Sit less on your chairs and if wakatemerwa nyora dzedzvatsvatsva mangwana waenda kune imwe meeting mangwana, just now I am fed up ne too much travelling. Too much travelling, very little attention is being given to practical work…. Zim-Asset should not remain just a name. Zim-Asset must be a practical engine. On paper we say yes we need to produce food. On paper we say we need to produce products and beneficiate them. That we as an indigenous people must equip ourselves and sustain that development.  That is what the paper says, but what we say on paper is not put in practice. We must be practical people now, not just theorists…. Act, act and act more. We have a tendency to have debates. Aah there is a meeting there President come and open this, ooh we have this issue now. I have a string of invitations to meetings, I would want to be invited to see what is going on. Are we invited to see an irrigation scheme, a dam being constructed, a new mine being opened or the road Beitbridge-Masvingo-Harare being done. That’s then we will tell the story of Zim-Asset and this is where our Ministers must play their part,” Mugabe told his ministers. Mugabe himself has been accused of travelling too much and was at one time nick-named Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese explorer in the 15-16^th century who went out to discover the world.

Mugabe says congress will stop all the nonsense in ZANU-PF

Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front leader Robert Mugabe yesterday said the party congress in December will stop all the nonsense about fighting for positions within the ruling party. “Some war is going on in my party. People want positions. They want to even push senior people out,” he said arguing that he might be old but he was still in control and will announce when his time is up. “ZANU-PF, I can assure you is a solid party. We shall not have any nonsense, none at all. No rubbish. We’re constant. It’s a party mind you, which combines persons who carry the tradition of the past, focus. When we’d these parties (ZAPU and ZANU) we never campaigned for positions. You’re going to go into that position, yes I’ll work in that position. You go into this position, yes. I was appointed to this position why was this one put in that position? Aah, come on! And zvandaiswa pano now I’m going to use this position to achieve A, B, C, D which has to do with pushing others out.  Planning, planning, planning dirty tricks against others all the time and that is why these so-called factions are daily dreaming, daily talking about and daily feeding on. When we get to Congress, we want to stop all that nonsense!….It is not fighting against each other, it is about fighting the real enemy. Let us learn to define the real enemy. We should know that contradictions do happen. Contradictions which are of a lighter nature, others which are very damaging. Those are contradictions we must sit and resolve. When they cause hostility they are antagonistic. We do not need them even in our society.” ZANU-PF has been riddled with faction fighting and squabbling which has been fuelled by Mugabe’s wife Grace, who has called on Vice-President Joice Mujuru to resign alleging that she is corrupt and plans to oust her husband. Mujuru is proving to be a formidable challenger but reports that she received a standing ovation from the opposition in parliament could have significant dent on her career as Grace has accused her of being in league with the opposition.

Mugabe literary lynches Mujuru: inga kana michato inodambuka wani

President Robert Mugabe literary lynched his deputy Vice-President Joice Mujuru when he told party supporters demanding her sacking today: “Party ine marongero ayo.  Inga kana michato inodambuka wani. Ungabva wati mudzimai wawagara naye chienda nhasi. Nyaya yacho inoiswa kuvabereki vake…vamunenge musingade hamuva vhotere.” Mai Mujuru has been under siege for nearly two weeks with First Lady Grace Mugabe demanding her resignation claiming that she was tarnishing the image of the party because she was thoroughly corrupt and was buying support to topple Mugabe at the party congress in December. Mugabe literary confirmed that his deputy was buying support just before the party’s politburo meeting today when he castigated war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda who is also under attack for failing to attend any of Grace’s nationwide rallies. Sibanda’s colleagues have been demanding his resignation with another war veteran Joseph Chinotimba today saying Sibanda should not be allowed to continue leading the association. Chinotimba said he was more popular than Sibanda because he was an elected Member of Parliament. Mugabe told the supporters: “Jabulani ndimi munonzi makamutengera mota akagozo pihwa dzimwe shanu dzichibva kuna vaButau… abva anamata vakamupa. Hondo yaanoda kuita ndeipi achiita nemasoja angu? Tinoda kuzviona….Jabulani anotaura sekunge akabatwa naSatan. We hear that Jabulani Sibanda stopped some buses from coming…asi Jabulani avakutonga nyika kanhi?” David Butau has been Mai Mujuru’s right hand man and held secret meetings with former United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Christopher Dell  during one of which he asked for United States assistance for  the “reformist element ” of the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front led by Mai Mujuru and her husband Solomon Mujuru. Butau also arranged a secret meeting between Vice-President Joice Mujuru and United States ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray. Mai Mujru was the acting President at the time. Mugabe had gone to Copenhagen to attend a climate change summit, but she held a secret meeting at her farm which was not attended by any foreign affairs people as is normally required.

Tsvangirai vows this is the last MDC congress as an opposition party

Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai today told his supporters that this is the last congress for the party as an opposition party. “We boldly announce the closure of what has been the frequent and systematic theft of the people’s mandate. That is why we are holding this Congress under the theme: Towards national convergence; the solution to the national crisis,” he told delegates to the party’s fourth congress in Harare. The MDC-T congress has been grossly over-shadowed by squabbles within the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, which have dominated the news for the past two to three months. Tsvangirai said internal elections for the party will be held tomorrow. He is unopposed and so is his deputy Thokozani  Khupe  and national chairman Lovemore Moyo. The battle is over the powerful post of secretary general. “ While our internal elections tomorrow will be the icing on the cake, we owe it to history and to future generations to provide the political and economic answers to this restive nation suffering under the yoke of a  clueless political leadership and a biting economic crisis,” he said. “I am personally convinced that this is our last Congress as an opposition party. We have been a popular party since our formation but we have failed to govern because the people’s will has been persistently and brazenly subverted.”  Zimbabwe’s next elections are in 2018. Tsvangirai even said that he will help those who broke away from the party over the leadership renewal calls so that they can grow into a formidable party. “We hear former colleagues are launching their party next year. As I said, we wish them good luck. They are not our foes but partners in the struggle. They have attempted to give an impression that we are in competition with them hence the persistent negative campaign especially against the person of Morgan Tsvangirai. We are even ready to assist them grow! At the end of the day it is the people Zimbabwe who will judge, for they know the difference between fact and fiction, real and fake leaders. The people are not gullible,” he said

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