via Stalwarts form new Zanu PF – DailyNews Live 6 April 2015 by Fungi Kwaramba
HARARE – Zanu PF has now officially split into two distinct and bitterly-opposed formations, with disaffected party stalwarts — including liberation struggle pioneers, war veterans and security sector bigwigs — coalescing under the principles of the “original Zanu PF” and now operating as Zanu People First, the Daily News can exclusively reveal.
Well-placed sources told the newspaper yesterday that former Vice President Joice Mujuru was set to lead this “original Zanu PF” which would use the slogan “People First” to “distinguish itself clearly from mafikizolos (Zanu PF Johnny-come-latelies) and weevils (supporters of President Robert Mugabe’s wife Grace and VP Emmerson Mnangagwa)”…. as ruling party splits into two distinct formations.
Retired, but hugely respected party elder, Cephas Msipa, was among the first prominent party members to warn of an imminent split of the party, going on to criticise Mugabe openly late last year for failing to deal with Zanu PF’s deadly infighting and refusing to take advice on the party’s escalating factionalism.
In an interview with the Daily News last October, Msipa said pointedly that he feared for the worst for Zanu PF if its ugly intra-party ructions continued to obtain.
“If people continue being dissatisfied with what is happening, it is possible to have a split. I think the president has the key to all these issues. I hate factionalism and if it continues I don’t know what will become of the party,” he said ruefully.
Msipa also bluntly warned Mugabe that his failure to unmask and stop the party’s real factionalists would result in the party splitting into several opposing camps, further attacking the party faction aligned to Mnangagwa for behaving as if it “owned” the divisive Grace — a development that he said was fuelling factionalism inside the party.
Analysts said yesterday that the country’s political stage was now delicately poised between the two bitterly-opposed Zanu PF formations, as well as opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC, ahead of the crucial 2018 national elections.
“They (Grace and Zanu PF hardliners) appear to have finally got what they always seemed to want, a split — and it’s now game on between Zanu PF Mugabe and Zanu PF Mujuru.
“Every one’s hope will be that this does not degenerate into more abductions and violence as Zanu PF hardliners have never been known to take determined opposition well,” analyst Shepherd Mntungwa said.
Investigations by the Daily News show that the disaffected Zanu PF stalwarts have been meeting regularly with many prominent Zimbabweans for some time now, to plan “the operationalisation” of Zanu People First, in a bid “to reclaim the original Zanu PF”, which they allege has been hijacked by power-hungry mafikizolos.
Sources said many expelled and serving Zanu PF ministers, Members of Parliament, Youth and Women’s league officials who had been victims of the party’s harassment and brutal purges of the past few months, which had been fronted by Grace, supported the idea of Zanu People First and were pushing Mujuru to lead the party.
Former Presidential Affairs minister, Didymus Mutasa, who is a former top aide of Mugabe, has alluded to the formation of the party and its principles, adding that they were pinning their hopes on the popular widow of the late liberation war icon General Solomon Mujuru, Joice, to lead it.
“There is no doubt that the person that will take Zimbabwe from the current political and economic mess is Amai Mujuru. The government has failed and the Look East policy only makes a few people rich.
“Only until there is a real change of government, we are all going to suffer. The only person capable of changing this is Amai Mujuru,” Mutasa said in a recent interview with the Daily News.
“We are members of the original and genuine Zanu PF which was formed on August 8, 1963. We constitute the nucleus that bore the brunt of the national struggle. Unlike the mafikizolos who constitute the new-look and illegal central committee and politburo of the 2014 Zanu PF.
“Our membership is composed of the original and seasoned politicians, commanders of the Zimbabwe African National Army (Zanla), Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (Zipra) and Zimbabwe People’s Army (Zipa) forces who are now being marginalised,” Mutasa added.
Revealing their close contact with some key members of the post-December Zanu PF, Mutasa also said they were working closely with chairpersons who were deposed in the run-up to the damp squib 2014 party congress.
Ahead of that controversial congress, Zanu PF fired nine elected provincial chairpersons who were perceived to be sympathetic to Mujuru.
“We are happy to say that the majority of the deposed chairmen of provinces were tried and tested war veterans and upright members of our party. Our hearts are with them, and they are with us,” Mutasa said.
He also said “Amai Joice Teurai Ropa Mujuru is a team player and a fine compromiser. She always puts ‘People First’ and the unity of the party above her personal ambitions”.
“We resolutely support all the political leaders and party members allegedly aligned to Mai Mujuru who were purged before, during and after the illegal, undemocratic, unprocedural and illegitimate congress of December 2014.
“We also embrace all those who left the party in the past because their grievances had not been handled properly,” Mutasa added.
Notable persons who have been chucked out from the post-congress Zanu PF include Mujuru, Mutasa, former party spokesperson Rugare Gumbo, former war veterans’ leader Jabulani Sibanda and former Mashonaland West provincial chairman, Temba Mliswa.
Margaret Dongo, who left Zanu PF in the 1990s to stand as an independent candidate also appeared to warm up to the idea of a new party yesterday.
“A Zanu PF returning to the ideals of the liberation struggle is long overdue. It will attract war veterans, nationalists and all those who were wrongly expelled from the party. The generation that waged the liberation war is still there and should lead the party not these mafikizolos.
“Fortunately, these guys have seen the light and there are a lot of war veterans who have been looking for shelter,” Dongo said.
And despite the public bravado after expelling Mujuru and her allies, it is widely known that the People First movement has rattled the ruling party, amid fears that party hardliners may resort to extreme violence to thwart their opponents.
But Mutasa and team are not deterred.
“We should all converge to save our country from the corrupt and selfish leadership of the illegal 2014 Zanu PF. We will accept as members all Zimbabweans from all walks of life who are determined to work for a new Zimbabwe.
“We envisage a Zimbabwe where every member of society matters. Hence we shall require that in all considerations people must come first. Hence our slogan People First,” he said.
Gumbo said yesterday that the expulsion of Mujuru from the post-congress Zanu PF was a blessing in disguise as it would open the door for “like-minded persons” to work together towards a common objective.
“The expulsion of Mai Mujuru just shows vindictiveness on the part of those who are in the party’s politburo, but they have also played into our hands,” he said cryptically.
COMMENTS
Ndapota madhara, please we are sick and tired of all of you,who still refer to the early 1960’s,as a lifetime steping stone to lead zim 50 years later on.Just retire,die or whatever and spare us your half a century old bla..bla.Enough is enough!!
A number of questions please. Have this lot of rogues got amy following on the ground? Can they beat the crooked electoral system? Maybe they can, because they should know what Mugabe did in the past.
Will they and especially Mujuru have the guts to be standing up to physical violence to be expected from Mugabe and his mafioso? Will they just cause further disunity in the political scene in Zimbabwe that would ultimately benefit the rogues in Zanu-PF?
I suspect that this is what the ZANU PF strategists want. They have been almost deliberately trying to push mai Mujuru into splitting and forming a party – finally doing it themselves when she did not (like Makoni or Tekere before her) do it.
Why? It could be because ZANU PF thrives on a war footing and mentality, much as Hitler made the Jews the excuse and diversion for all Germany’s then economic problems. It also allows for justifying the use of all sorts of extra-judiciary, emergency strategies and activities befitting a war situation (as we saw with the RBZ).
We have been “at war” for the last 15 years. War against white Zimbabwean farmers (hondo yeminda), war against British and American administrations and “regime change”, war against the MDC “sellouts”, war against Sanctions… And now that all these excuses have passed their “Use-by” dates, we may be approaching the manufacture of a new enemy against the State – the Mujuru faction.
This is all because they have no solutions for the economy – the real source of the electorate’s disaffection with the party.
Rwendo
There is much truth in what you say – but one can only add that Stalinist ideology, which had nothing to do with Marxism and everything to do with oppression of the people – entails a constant series of wars from 1917 until Stalin’s death in 1952. The Second World War was the only real war – the rest were wars against specific sectors of the community or potential opponents within the so-called Communist Party.
Mugabe is strictly a Stalinist – so constant wars against his own people is a given. One other thing that Stalinists did well is to enrich themselves and to control all sectors of the economy only for the benefit of the bigwigs – the Leader and his cronies who looted on a constant basis. There is no way that the thieves would destroy their own source of massive financial benefits by fixing the economy – even if they have an inkling of what is required to do so.
Lets wait and see.Kind of good to have a strong movement against Mugabe however I’m skeptical about these people.I honestly thought that one day Tsvangirai would lead a free Zimbabwe but lately the goings on, in the MDC, have not painted a good picture.
The other aspect to this strategy is that as a preparation for 2018, this allows for another divide and rule of the opposition votes. On the other hand, if Mujuru somehow coalesces with the MDC opposition, then they will all be branded as sell-outs who had always been clandestinely working together, to return the country to the whites, backed by the USA.. etc. etc.
Michael
Interesting. I had always considered him a Maoist with grand Africanist pretensions. However this is not an area I can claim any special familiarity with, so thanks for that perspective which does make much sense.
I think the MDC would be very foolish to go into any coalition with ZANU rejects.
There is the lesson of the GNU, for one, lest they forget.
The overriding consideration however,is the corrupt and evil nature of ZANU.
No sane thinking party should touch these guys with a barge pole.
The MDC can watch from the sidelines whilst this monster tears itself to pieces.
But there again, this is Zim politics we talking about!