Source: Angry Kasukuwere pans Zanu PF foes – DailyNews Live
Fungi Kwaramba 27 March 2017
HARARE – Zanu PF national political commissar, Saviour Kasukuwere, says
some ruling party bigwigs who are allegedly plotting to remove President
Robert Mugabe from power have also now hijacked programmes of the former
liberation movement’s women’s league to advance their “successionist”
agendas.
Speaking in an interview with the Daily News yesterday, Kasukuwere said he
and other “committed and consistent” party cadres would not allow the
unnamed successionists to succeed.
This comes as disgruntled war veterans have made it clear that Mugabe
should not lead both Zanu PF and Zimbabwe anymore, adding that the
nonagenarian will soon be removed from office in the same way that former
national football team coach, Kalisto Pasuwa, was ousted from his position
last month following the country’s exit from the continental soccer
showpiece in Gabon.
Kasukuwere’s comments also come as a wave of protests have erupted across
the country, as irate members of the powerful women’s league demonstrate
against the wing’s embattled deputy chairperson, Eunice Sandi Moyo, and
treasurer Sarah Mahoka – on charges of undermining the authority of
powerful First Lady Grace Mugabe and embezzling party funds.
“What I would like to say is that the party stands 100 percent behind the
president and the first lady. The first lady is the mother of the nation
and thus the loyalty towards the two is beyond doubt, and that must be
clear to all and sundry.
“The president and the first lady are the keys that hold the nation
together and thus deserve the utmost respect … The party is strong and
the (women’s league) demonstrations are disciplinary issues and purely
women’s league issues that they will deal with.
“What we must ensure is that we do not have other players jumping in with
their regime change agenda,” Kasukuwere said.
While the Local Government minister tried to paint a rosy picture of the
party, the situation within the former liberation movement has been far
from serene, as rival factions have escalated their ugly succession wars –
amid fears that the party’s centre can no longer hold.
And with Mugabe getting older and increasingly frail, insiders say both
the Team Lacoste faction, which is rallying behind Vice President Emmerson
Mnangagwa, and the generation 40 (G40) camp – which is rabidly opposed to
the Midlands godfather succeeding Mugabe – are pushing for an early party
congress to resolve its thorny succession headache.
“We will not accept anyone who trivialises the president. We will make
sure that the party leadership toes the line because we have discovered
from the (women’s league) demonstrations that there are some people who
are shedding crocodile tears,” Kasukuwere said yesterday.
Responding to allegations that he had tried to stop the demonstrations, he
said what was pleasing to him was that the marches had shown “tremendous
support” for Grace.
“We are happy at the support that has been shown by the women’s league to
the first lady … the bottom line is that the party is solidly behind the
president and the first lady.
“However, it is clear that there are some people who would want to hijack
the programme (demonstrations) and bring their ideas to oppose the essence
of the demonstrations and further their interests. This will be resisted.
“Let me reiterate that the women’s league is an arm of Zanu PF, with their
own political commissar and they make independent decisions for their
organ. I’m at national level and we will only deal with the issue when it
comes to us, but for now allow the women to handle their issue,” he said.
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