G40, a faction at the deep end

A day is a very long time in politics. On Tuesday (November 1, 2016), Zimbabwe’s Higher and Tertiary Education minister Jonathan Moyo threw the mother of all tantrums.

Source: G40, a faction at the deep end – NewsDay Zimbabwe November 4, 2016

OPINION: Prof Changamire

A long scathing plethora of accumulated threats to sue every influential figure in government. From fellow Cabinet member, Minister of Information Chris Mushowe, to President Robert Mugabe’s spokesperson George Charamba, all the way to Herald editor Caesar Zvayi.

He called the anti-graft body, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) illegally and unconstitutionally appointed, and functionally at odds with the laws of the land. He slammed the integrity of the head of the organisation, and threatened to expose all other fellows from his party, his government and his politburo.

Moyo boasted that he was appointed by his principal, forgetting that those he said were illegally appointed also functioned at the same pleasure that he enjoyed.

Fast forward a day later, on Wednesday (November 2, 2016), Jonathan Moyo handed himself over to the same body he said was illegally appointed and functions to the same tune. The same body he decried a day before, that had tried to arrest him several times. He did them a favour, tail between legs and handed himself in.

Of course, that is just part of the story. Moyo did not voluntarily hand himself over. He was ordered by his principal, the President, to submit to the authority. His excuse was that the motivation for his investigation was tribal was not bought. To Mugabe, the issue is not about why Moyo was investigated, it is about whether the findings of those accusations are true.

Indeed, for several years, Mugabe has not dealt with corruption adequately, if at all. But the stakes are different now. His most senior army generals have stated that corruption has become a national security threat.

It was corruption that inspired the #ThisFlag movement, and several other protests. The protests annoyed Mugabe so much that he declared the leader of the campaign Evan Mawarire a persona non-grata in his own country.

But Mugabe is not foolish, neither is his security personnel. In the absence of Mawarire, the country was rocked by a series of violent protests. The worst seen in two decades. Mawarire was not the problem. Corruption had/has simply reached intolerable levels.

One thing Mugabe cares about, it is his grip on power. Threaten that, and you are dancing to the tune of the pied piper! You are the mouse, that will plunge into the unforgiving river and drown.

Bar that, Moyo has been found out by Mugabe. His window dressed plan of pushing for a Grace Mugabe presidency, only to grab power from her after her husband’s demise was found out.

Moyo is a genius, but Mugabe is a bigger genius, if not the best. If the theme of things in a single day is striking, consider the actual faction that Moyo led appeared in pole position to land a fatal blow to Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Hurungwe East MP Sarah Mahoka insulted him twice and in public. Manicaland Provincial Affairs minister and Makoni South MP Mandi Chimene called him a sitting duck — an idiom meaning a defenseless victim. Moyo himself re-tweeted a picture of himself riding a crocodile comically termed croc-busting. At one point, he even said something to an effect of a croc being a lizard.

First Lady Grace Mugabe launched a scathing attack at Mnangagwa and those perceived to be his supporters. Again, in public.

But slowly, the signs have been there that G40 is a faction at the deep end. Chimene reversed her statements and said Mnangagwa was like a father. Mahoka fell out with Grace Mugabe after stealing her money.

Grace found out about the “young turks” using her name to extort, swindle and defend illicit activities. Suddenly she was the target, accused of playing a role in the matters of theft. She retreated into silence and abandoned ship.

Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment minister Patrick Zhuwao found himself in trouble, having stolen several folds and created parallel government structures at the Ministry of Indigenisation. He professed his ignorance, apologised for “misinterpreting” the law and has not been heard of since.

Local Government, Public Works and National Housing minister Saviour Kasukuwere faces a huge probe. As former minister of Youths several public funds were plundered. While he was Minister of Environment, ivory stock piles reportedly worth millions of dollars on the black market went missing. As Housing minister, allegedly entered into illicit deals with Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries (PHD) leader Walter Magaya.

Just yesterday, during a Cabinet meeting, Kasukuwere reportedly wept, while on his knees in front of Mugabe begging him for mercy. He knows what is coming next. He faces arrest. He will soon be ordered to hand himself over to Zacc too. He begged Mugabe for Presidential pardon to which the answer was that Mugabe could not pardon him before he had been tried and convicted.

Think of it, as a small girl, who climbs a ladder to pluck the juiciest orange at the top of the tree. She gets to the top, but falls just quite short. She is close enough to reach the apple, but if she moves any step further, it will cause the ladder to tip over.

As said earlier, a day is a long-time in politics. They could yet turn it around. But it is unlikely. For Generation 40, the Young Turks, these are murky waters. They toppled former Vice-President Joice Mujuru without much trouble, much drama. But they have reached tipping point. They are at the deep end, drowning. They are gone for all money in my view.

Be it tomorrow or some other day, they will sit on table again. Except, this time, they will not be plotting against anyone, they will be sharing a meal, in a maximum-security prison.

Prof Changamire is political commentator and analyst. Article appears on Khuluma Afrika — a centre for analysis, and commentary.