Source: Grace, Chombo to grace youth league indaba – NewsDay Zimbabwe September 14, 2017
FIRST Lady Grace Mugabe and Zanu PF secretary for administration, Ignatius Chombo will today attend a meeting of the party’s youth executive, NewsDay has learnt.
BY RICHARD CHIDZA
Insiders said Grace and Chombo were set to attend the meeting to “prepare the youth” for crucial rallies set for Harare and Bulawayo in the coming weeks, as the internal power struggle to succeed President Robert Mugabe seems to be reaching the home stretch.
“They want to make sure the youth league is on their side. The die was cast in Bindura, (Vice-President Emmerson) Mnangagwa is in trouble. They have him exactly where they wanted and might want to tip him over using any of the two remaining presidential youth interface rallies,” sources said yesterday.
Youth league secretary for administration, Xavier Kazizi, confirmed the meeting, but claimed they had not invited the First Lady.
“Yes, it is a constitutional meeting that we will convene tomorrow (today). We have invited Cde Chombo to the meeting. The process of inviting someone cannot be haphazard. Where are you getting that? She (Grace) is the First Lady and our party secretary for women’s affairs. It’s not possible that we can just wake up and ask her to come to address us or even through a phone call. We have not invited her,” he said.
Of late, the youth league has organised rallies addressed by Mugabe across the country, but has not publicly meddled or declared its allegiance to any of the factions. Youth league leader, Kudzanai Chipanga has reportedly become the subject of an internal vilification campaign from the G40 faction amid claims he has not been assertive in his support for the group’s push to have Mnangagwa forced out of the party.
At the Manicaland provincial youth interface rally, Mugabe warned Chipanga against being used.
Grace last week warned Mnangagwa to either dump his supporters or face expulsion from Zanu PF in the same manner former Vice-President Joice Mujuru was expelled in 2014.
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