Promoting Grace was Mutasa’s idea

via Promoting Grace was Mutasa’s idea 27 November 2014 by Tawanda Majoni

The idea to make Grace Mugabe the head of the Zanu (PF) Women’s League originated with Didymus Mutasa – but the plot has boomeranged on him and the faction led by Joice Mujuru.

Mutasa, who is the secretary for administration and a senior minister in President Robert Mugabe’s office, confirmed this to The Zimbabwean.

Grace is set to become the next women’s affairs boss at the Zanu (PF) congress early next month after being nominated to that position in a surprise move that many believe was the idea of the outgoing secretary Oppah Muchinguri.

Mutasa reportedly hatched the plan to spite Muchinguri, with whom he has had a long-term ongoing feud in public and in private. He has been supporting vice president Mujuru, who seems likely to be flushed out at the congress following a spirited campaign led by Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Sources told The Zimbabwean that Mutasa several months ago consulted Temba Mliswa, his nephew and then Zanu (PF) provincial chairman for Mashonaland West, to initiate the campaign to elevate Grace.

“The idea to start the campaign from Mash West was to make it appear as though it was the province from which the First Family comes that had started it. Mutasa would remain in the background. His idea was to throw Muchinguri into the political wilderness,” said a highly placed source.

Mliswa reportedly shared the overture from Mutasa with another provincial heavyweight, Sara Mahoka, but the information was leaked to Edna Madzongwe, say the sources.

Madzongwe is a party elder in the province and heads the Senate. She is also said to belong to the Mnangagwa faction.

“When Madam Madzongwe got wind of what Mutasa wanted to do, she quickly called Mnangagwa and a meeting was promptly convened at his farm in Kwekwe where the strategists in the camp decided to seize the baton and run with it,” added the source.

The following day, Mnangagwa sold the idea of making her the next women’s league chair to Grace and her husband and they agreed. The Mnangagwa faction then agreed that Madzongwe would lead the campaign. Muchinguri had not been consulted about the latest developments, and it was subsequently decided that she must be part of the campaign. Madzongwe informed her of the decision.

“When she heard of the plot to replace her with Mai Mugabe, Oppah collapsed. She was shocked by the plan. However, she quickly agreed to the strategy because her choices were severely limited,” he said.

Madzongwe and Muchinguri called a meeting of the women’s league at Grace’s Mazowe Farm where they announced the decision.

“Never be fooled by the fact that Oppah has been at Grace’s side since the nomination. The truth is that she is bitter, but she has realised that she cannot do anything about it. She is hoping that she will get a senior position after congress – but that is not guaranteed.

“Mutasa’s plot backfired on him and the Mujuru camp because it was poorly handled. Mai Mujuru knew about the plan and had put her trust in Mutasa to handle it,” said another source.

Mutasa said he had no qualms admitting that it was his idea. “I wanted the First Lady to replace Muchinguri because Oppah has proven to be an incompetent head of the women’s league. What happened after I came up with the idea is something else,” Mutasa told The Zimbabwean.

Despite moves to eject him by Mnangagwa strategists, he has vowed to stay put. “I am not going anywhere. I am a founder member of Zanu. I joined politics in 1962 as a student and it is crazy for some people to think that they can remove me,” he said.

He took a swipe at Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, who is said to be one of Mnangagwa’s key strategists, for using the official media, particularly the Herald, to tarnish his image.

Since Grace’s elevation, the Mnangagwa faction has been gaining ground. Nine out of 10 provincial chairpersons aligned to Mujuru have been replaced with the crocodile’s cronies – who are set to call the shots at congress and possibly elevate the justice minister to party and national senior vice president – setting the stage for him to succeed Mugabe.

“The (Mnangagwa) faction is almost guaranteed success in removing the clause that stipulates that one of the vice presidents must be a woman. They want Phekezela Mphoko to be the junior second secretary in the party,” said another source.

Mphoko is the former ambassador to South Africa and was a member of (PF) Zapu, the party that struck a merger with Zanu (PF) in 1987 to form a unity government after years of intense fighting for political supremacy.

Since then, Zanu (PF) has reserved a co-vice presidency seat for a senior former Zapu member. Mutasa admitted that there were moves to remove the gender clause but said no decision had been made in that regard.