We failed in 2016- Mugabe admits

President Robert Mugabe yesterday said leaders of his Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front had failed to demonstrate the high levels of maturity and discipline expected of them because of political bickering over his succession in the party.

“For our party, 2016 has been quite disturbing too. We failed, as leaders, in some cases to demonstrate high levels of maturity and discipline expected of us,” he told the party’s central committee. “I have said this before that there is nothing wrong in expressing an ambition or aspiring for leadership positions, or for higher offices in the party.”

Mugabe said he frowned upon shameless and unbridled ambition to ride roughshod over others.

“We should not allow ourselves to be used as pawns by others seeking to advance their own narrow agendas at the expense of serving the larger interests of the party and the people.

“Dirty politics should never be countenanced in our party. The tradition of our party is never one of bickering over party positions. It has always been one where leaders are elected by the people, on the basis of their track record of performance. The party needs revolutionary leaders and revolutionary cadres, who are always alive to their responsibilities as leaders of a party of liberation.”

ZANU-PF has been rocked by faction fighting between a group called G40 which is allegedly behind First Lady Grace Mugabe and Lacoste allegedly behind Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Both Grace and Mnangagwa claim they have no presidential ambitions.

Mugabe’s former deputy, Joice Mujuru, who is now leader of Zimbabwe People First, says Mugabe is the real leader of G40.

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