Kasukuwere feels the heat

Source: Kasukuwere feels the heat – DailyNews Live

Mugove Tafirenyika and Fungi Kwaramba      24 May 2017

HARARE – It appears as if it does not rain but pours at the moment for
under-fire Zanu PF national political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere – with
the Local Government minister now facing fresh damaging charges by his
party foes, as the ugly war to succeed President Robert Mugabe continues
to escalate.

This comes as Zanu PF bigwigs, stung by the level of animosity among its
various rival camps, have vowed to punish severely perpetrators of
Sunday’s horrendous violence in Bulawayo – which exposed to the world the
ruling party’s deepening tribal, factional and succession wars.

In the latest instalment of the myriad charges being levelled against
Kasukuwere, he is standing accused of stoking intra-party tensions
further, by ordering Midlands to disregard the weekend winner of party
primary elections in the province for the forthcoming Chiwundura
by-election – which became vacant last month following the death of Kizito
Chivamba.

At the same time, rival Zanu PF youths are said to have engaged in running
battles in Harare South on Monday, a constituency that is represented by
provincial political commissar and close Kasukuwere ally, Shadreck
Mashayamombe.

Zanu PF is currently deeply divided, with the camp which is rabidly
opposed to Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa succeeding Mugabe, the
Generation 40 (G40) faction, involved in a life-and-death tussle with the
VP’s backers, Team Lacoste.

Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, Zanu PF insiders claimed that
Kasukuwere had further stoked tensions in the warring party after he
ordered Midlands province not to accept Pearson Mbalekwa as the winner of
last weekend’s primary elections which were held to choose Chivamba’s
replacement.

Mbalekwa was sacked from Zanu PF after the so-called Tsholotsho
Declaration in 2004, in which Mnangagwa was then accused of organising a
palace coup against Mugabe.

A former intelligence operative, Mbalekwa later joined opposition leader
Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC, before being elected MP for Zvishavane in 2008.

In Sunday’s primary elections, Mbalekwa polled 1 511 votes ahead of Brown
Ndlovu (1 196), Celton Charamba (1 161) and Bigboy Mzila (660).

“The party received names from the contestants who were prepared to stand
in the Midlands province. Out of the 21 candidates, 20 were approved by
the party and … Mbalekwa’s application was turned down for various
reasons.

“That is the position of the party. So, whoever emerged at the top,
outside the candidature of Mbalekwa  will stand for the party,”
Kasukuwere, who is attending the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk
Reduction Conference with Mugabe in Mexico, said in his defence yesterday.

“We advised the province of Midlands this morning (yesterday), and so we
will not entertain the defiance to party decisions and directives given to
the province.

“The province wrote to the party and was given appropriate response after
thoroughly analysing all the candidates. I personally also advised …
Omega Hungwe (deputy national political commissar), who was leading the
party process in Midlands that Mbalekwa was disqualified,” Kasukuwere
added.

Midlands is one of the nine provinces that have passed a vote of no
confidence in Kasukuwere, and is said to be a Team Lacoste stronghold.

But a Team Lacoste-linked official was adamant that Mbalekwa was the
province’s “official candidate” for the forthcoming by-election, and that
the region was ready to take Kasukuwere head-on.

“Mbalekwa re-joined the party and was rehabilitated. Charges from
Tsholotsho do not stick because if we were to use that as a yard stick,
then Jonathan Moyo should not be a minister and member of the politburo.

“Similarly, Daniel Shumba would not be an MP and chairperson of a
parliamentary portfolio committee, and July Moyo would not be deputy
secretary for administration, and Mark Madiro would not have been a member
of the central committee.

“All these people were once expelled for their alleged involvement in the
Tsholotsho meeting. But after serving their suspensions, they were
re-admitted into the party and were rehabilitated.

“We say bring it on, Kasukuwere. We will resist his move to destabilise
our province like he tried to do in 2015,” the official told the Daily
News.

The Harare South clashes on Monday occurred when youths resisted orders to
vacate the land they had occupied illegally, claiming that they had been
given the green light to do so by Mashayamombe.

The land belongs to a private company which bought it from Harare
businessman and Zifa president Philip Chiyangwa.

The youths are said to have subsequently directed their anger at
Mashayamombe.

However, Mashayamombe claimed there was never any fracas in his
constituency, blaming his party enemies yesterday for circulating false
images of the alleged upheavals on social media.

Mashayamombe has come under increasing pressure lately to leave his post
by his rivals, who last month issued him with a prohibition order barring
him from conducting any Zanu PF business before this was overturned at the
last minute.

His rivals accuse him of being “a willing tool of Kasukuwere” and thus
also want him ousted from his position.

On the other hand, Kasukuwere is sweating over his future in the warring
former liberation movement, after the party’s provinces passed votes of no
confidence in him over a slew of untested allegations which include
creating parallel structures and planning to topple Mugabe from power.

Kasukuwere’s fate was set to be decided at last week’s postponed politburo
meeting, after a probe team appointed by Mugabe to investigate the
allegations against him had completed its work.

Insiders have also previously told the Daily News that Kasukuwere’s party
rivals are “systematically working for his demise” – in the same manner
former Vice President Joice Mujuru was chased out of the warring former
liberation movement in 2014.

Meanwhile, Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo claimed yesterday that
the ruling party was not being wracked by worsening infighting.

“What has been happening nationwide was not violence but peaceful
demonstrations which are permissible under the Zanu PF constitution.

“We are a revolutionary party that prides itself in promoting democratic
values where we agree to disagree and agree to differ.

“While it should be appreciated that Zanu PF is a massive organisation
that breeds a diversity of opinions, we condemn violence of any nature and
those behind the Bulawayo violence will face the full wrath of the law.

“The party has organs that deal with such wayward cadres and they will
certainly be brought to book. But it would be an exaggeration to take that
isolated incident and make it a national issue,” Khaya Moyo told the Daily
News.