via Spies hound Mujuru, allies – DailyNews Live 30 September 2015
HARARE – Former Vice President Joice Mujuru and her allies -— coalescing under the People First slogan — are reeling under increased surveillance by the country’s dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), as President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF plots to derail the emerging political movement.
Both the victims of the surveillance and placed sources within the post-congress Zanu PF confirmed the intelligence onslaught to the Daily News yesterday, whose primary objectives were said to be to derail People First and to establish the movement’s plans, membership and sources of funding.
“There is total panic within the party (post-congress Zanu PF) about Mai Mujuru and the talk of her joining hands with (opposition leader Morgan) Tsvangirai for 2018. This is why there are all these games now,” one of the sources said.
Former State Security minister (in charge of the CIO) and People First stalwart, Didymus Mutasa, also confirmed to the Daily News yesterday that it was an open secret that the leading lights of his camp were under increased State surveillance.
He described his erstwhile comrades in the post-congress Zanu PF as “democracy-averse pathological liars” who were wasting the country’s meagre resources by unleashing intelligence agents on the People First movement and its leaders.
“I know them (CIOs) as I was part of the system for a long time. Close to my gate a car is often parked there. But instead of standing there they should come in and we will give them tea. We are very hospitable people and we don’t want them to stand on top of mountains spying on us,” he said.
Mutasa added that the “hatchet job” was not just targeted at people like him, Mujuru and others who were openly identifying with People First, but also those post-congress bigwigs who were either suspected of being sympathetic to Mujuru or found themselves in a faction in the warring ruling party that had less influence in security-related ministries.
Since Mujuru recently launched her Blueprint to Unlock Investment and Leverage for Development manifesto, which has received widespread approval, the much-harassed widow of the late national hero, Solomon Mujuru, has come under heavy political attack from her former comrades in the post-congress Zanu PF.
The softly-spoken Mutasa, told the Daily News yesterday that the “embarrassing panic and desperation” that was evident on the part of the post-congress Zanu PF showed that “this regime is at its wits’ end and cannot deal with the pressing needs of Zimbabweans.”
“Everything they are saying about People First is a lie, these are people who are coming to their end and know that. Why follow us? In fact, we could tell them whatever they would like to know, anytime, if only they had the courage to approach us openly,” he said.
Mutasa also expressed shock that his old friend, Mugabe, could publicly threaten the country’s independent media, as he did recently, for covering Mujuru, when the frail nonagenarian was the one who had “listened to mafikizolos (the post-congress Zanu PF’s ambitious Johnny-come-latelies)” resulting in liberation struggle stalwarts being brutally purged both from the ruling party and their government positions.
He added that apart from spying on the Mujuru camp, the post-congress Zanu PF was also “hellbent” on scuttling any working relationship between People First and the mainstream MDC.
“We are aware of their plans. The fact though is that Tsvangirai is free to associate with whoever he likes. What we are fighting for is a free Zimbabwe, and these people are lying about us and Tsvangirai.
“If they want to know what we are doing they should come and we will tell them not to listen to our conversations on the phone. We are not going to be stopped, we are having our meetings on a regular basis. We are not afraid, let them engage us,” Mutasa said.
Asked if he was not afraid of being arrested or even killed by his political opponents, the fearless and frank-speaking Mutasa said he is “prepared for the worst”.
“They can kill us but cannot kill our ideas. We are putting final touches to our documents and plans, and very soon we will launch our party,” he said.
“All this (increased government surveillance on People First promoters) will come to nothing as we have absolutely nothing to hide. The fact is, we have announced our entrance into the political arena and there is no going back.
“Given the political atmosphere prevailing in the country, the only way forward is to make sure that everything goes according to plan.
“They (post-congress Zanu PF) are going to get a lot of shocks. It is simple as that,” People First spokesman Rugare Gumbo said.
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