Kasukuwere mauls Mnangagwa supporters

Source: Kasukuwere mauls Mnangagwa supporters – DailyNews Live

Mugove Tafirenyika      25 January 2017

HARARE – In a fresh assault on Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s allies
– as Zanu PF’s ugly tribal, factional and succession wars continue to burn
hot – Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere has once again
described them as a bunch of “drunkards” who allegedly think that the
ruling party “is run from beer halls”.

Kasukuwere, who is also Zanu PF’s all-powerful national political
commissar, and is believed to belong to the Generation 40 (G40) faction
which is opposed to Mnangagwa succeeding President Robert Mugabe, also
told the Daily News at the weekend that the VP’s backers were allegedly
hellbent on effecting illegal regime change in Zanu PF.

The miffed Kasukuwere, who is nicknamed Tyson on account of his combative
political style, said this while responding to questions regarding last
week’s strong assertion by Mnangagwa’s supporters that Zanu PF’s acting
provincial chairpersons were holding office irregularly as they had
allegedly been imposed on party structures.

“We have always said we are aware of the agenda of these people who
interestingly seem not to have any idea of how Zanu PF is run, to the
extent of thinking, in their little intoxicated minds, that this massive
party is run from some dingy hotel in Masvingo or some other place like
that, hoping to effect regime change. But they will be sorry,” he said.
Kasukuwere’s savage attack on Team Lacoste, the Zanu PF faction rallying
behind Mnangagwa’s mooted presidential aspirations, came as his vocal
friend and Higher Education minister, Jonathan Moyo, was also viciously
laying into the Midlands godfather himself, vowing publicly on Sunday that
he would never support the VP’s alleged bid for the leadership of the
ruling party.

Among the people who have recently claimed that Kasukuwere is imposing G40
members in provincial structures is former minister Paul Mangwana, who is
also Zanu PF’s deputy legal affairs secretary.

But Kasukuwere dismissed Mangwana’s and other alleged Team Lacoste
kingpins’ contention that he was running Zanu PF in a factional manner as
“beerhall talk” that was solely motivated by “successionist interests”.

“He (Mangwana) is just trying to be big-headed because the chairpersons
were approved by the politburo and he should have asked his boss Patrick
Chinamasa, who chairs the national disciplinary committee, about it.

“Why is he trying to confuse people by making statements while he is
drunk? Why did he make noise in defence of Ezra Chadzamira when he came
into office through the same process to replace Killian Gwanetsa?

“Is it not his province that made that recommendation and why didn’t he
make the same noise if he did not believe the process was within the
provisions of the Zanu PF constitution?

“Is it not a fact that Section 264 of the party constitution says the
deputy chairperson takes over from the chairperson when he is removed?
Mangwana is clearly out of order and he should just shut up,” Kasukuwere
fumed.

This is the second time in less than two years that Kasukuwere has
described Mnangagwa’s allies as drunkards.

In May 2015, he labelled some leaders of the Zimbabwe National Liberation
War Veterans’ Association (ZNLWVA) as drunkards, after the former
liberation fighters launched a scathing attack on him and other ruling
party bigwigs.

War veterans have made public their desire to have Mnangagwa as Mugabe’s
successor – a decision that has seen them sailing on a collision course
with G40 kingpins.