Source: Former bigwigs eye Zanu PF return – DailyNews Live
Fungi Kwaramba 5 December 2017
HARARE – The fall of Zimbabwe’s long-serving president, Robert Mugabe,
appears to have given hope to sacked former Zanu PF stalwarts who are now
retracing their footsteps back to the former liberation movement.
There is renewed hope among the former Zanu PF senior officials since the
appointment of Emmerson Mnangagwa as first secretary.
Barely a week after former Masvingo provincial affairs minister Kudakwashe
Bhasikiti signalled his intention to rejoin Zanu PF, another ex -official,
Claudius Makova, has written a letter seeking re-admission into the party.
And this is at the expense of the troubled Zimbabwe People First which was
formed after Mugabe hounded several officials from Zanu PF on untested
allegations of wanting to topple him in the run-up to the party’s December
2014 congress.
In a letter addressed to Zanu PF’s deputy secretary for administration
July Moyo, Makova said now that Mugabe is out of the picture he feels at
ease to rejoin the ruling party that is now led by Mnangagwa.
“The removal of the G40 cabal and the removal of one centre of power from
Zanu PF give me enough confidence to revert to my party and continue to
fight for the total emancipation of our people in our people-driven party
Zanu PF.
“My motivation is to remain a servant of the people in a party that I have
served for the greater part of my life,” said Makova.
The outspoken politician along with Bhasikiti attended a Zanu PF Masvingo
provincial coordinating committee (PCC) meeting over the weekend.
The two politicians have stood together in the last three years jumping
from one political party to another, but never really fitting in.
Zanu PF Masvingo province spokesperson Ronald Ndava confirmed that Makova
and Bhasikiti attended a PCC meeting.
“We were with them. As an executive we are going to sit down and discuss
the way forward, but we are a big family. A committee will sit down and
decide what we can do. It will be a collective decision,” Ndava told the
Daily News.
One of the founding elders of the ZPF and former Cabinet minister in
Mugabe’s government – Didymus Mutasa who was also sacked from Zanu PF in
the run up to December 2014 congress – said it was time that both Makova
and Bhasikiti found a permanent home.
“Now that there is freedom in Zimbabwe let them do as they please, but let
them not jump from one party to another. They jumped from (the then ZPF
led by Joice) Mujuru and then came to us and they jumped from us to join
the (Zimbabwe People First led by Agrippa) Mutambara, now they are going
back to Zanu PF. It’s very funny,” said Mutasa.
Makova and Bhasikiti’s days in the political wilderness were largely
because they had fallen out of favour with Mugabe, whose long political
career came to an end on November 21 when he resigned ahead of an
impeachment by Parliament.
Along with Bhasikiti, Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo, Makova parted ways with
Mujuru early this year and retained the name of the party that they formed
after a bitter expulsion from Zanu PF.
It was not long before ZPF split again in the middle and Makova and
Bhasikiti dumped Mutasa and Gumbo to follow retired brigadier general
Mutambara, who kept the name ZPF.
History repeated itself again as the two politicians crossed swords with
Mutambara over a leadership raw.
“I have already resigned from ZPF where I was now serving as the
secretary-general of the party. I find no reason to be serving in any
other party when Zanu PF has reverted to its original ideals by the
“operation restore legacy,” said Bhasikiti as he seeks to rejoin longtime
comrades at Zanu PF.
Just like Bhasikiti, Makova in his letter to Mutasa and Gumbo said the two
co-leaders of ZPF should seriously consider closing shop and returning
home to Zanu PF.
“It was my great expectation that we should have collectively closed shop
or disbanded our party ZPF and go back to Zanu PF where we originally all
belong,” said Makova.
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