via Gumbo is biggest casualty 19 November 2014 by Jera
In the ongoing Zanu (PF) purge targeting perceived allies of Joice Mujuru, the biggest casualty is the party’s chief spokesman, Rugare Gumbo. When Gumbo was implicated in the farcical Baba Jukwa case, it was clear that he would be next on the guillotine. Insiders say Mugabe confronted Gumbo, accusing him of having ties with Edmund Kudzayi, who is alleged to be Baba Jukwa.
Mugabe accused Gumbo of plotting to unconstitutionally remove him from office. Without even the courtesy of a disciplinary hearing, Gumbo was suspended for five years and later interviewed by police over the Jukwa debacle. For the embattled Gumbo, it must feel like a very painful déjà vu, as he was once a guest of Zimbabwe Prison Services after he, along with Dabengwa and ex Zipra Commander Masuku, were jailed for sedition, not long after independence.
Joshua Nkomo, who only escaped jail by fleeing the country, was also accused of the same offence. Surprise, surprise, after labelling Nkomo a ‘dissident’ and ‘malcontent,’ Mugabe later reconciled with the man who became known as ‘father Zimbabwe’ and is now immortalised in a nine-foot bronze effigy at JM Nkomo/8th Avenue in Bulawayo. The treason card has also come in handy in Mugabe’s fight against Ndabaningi Sithole, Morgan Tsvangirai and Tendai Biti – all of whom were later exonerated.
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