via Zanu PF burns in Mnangagwa’s home – DailyNews Live Mugove Tafirenyika • 20 December 2015
HARARE – As the race to succeed President Robert Mugabe in the warring post-congress Zanu PF intensifies, embattled Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s allies are coming under more pressure from the Midlands godfather’s party foes.
Well-placed sources told the Daily News on Sunday yesterday that the former liberation movement’s deadly factional and succession wars had become particularly hot in the VP’s Midlands stronghold where his avowed enemies, the ambitious party Young Turks known as the Generation 40, were apparently “running amok in a final assault” on his mooted presidential aspirations.
“While this ugly war has raged for months in other provinces, it has now come home (to the Midlands).
The G40 have clearly decided that it is now time to tame the lion, or is it the reptile, in its den as we get into 2016, which is a critical year ahead of the 2018 national elections,” a politburo member said.
The senior party official claimed that the Midlands provincial executive had already set in motion processes that would culminate in votes of no confidence being passed on perceived key Mnangagwa allies, allegedly beginning with Gokwe-Nembudziya legislator Justice Mayor Wadyajena.
“The province is on fire my friend because it is seen as the VP’s stronghold. The PCC (Zanu PF provincial coordinating committee) is under pressure to rid itself of all officials that are deemed a problem.
“These include Wadyajena, (Zanu PF deputy secretary for administration) July Moyo and (chairman Kizito) Chivamba who are on the verge of being ousted through votes of no confidence. It’s now a matter when this will happen, not if,” the bigwig said.
A Midlands party official seen as being in the VP’s camp corroborated the claims.
“They (G40) are busy as we speak. While they are still in the process of coming up with evidence against Moyo, we know that Wadyajena and Chivamba’s cases have been established and a damning dossier on them is already with (national political commissar Saviour) Kasukuwere,” he claimed.
Reached for comment yesterday, Chivamba would neither deny nor confirm the claims, preferring to say “concerning Wadyajena ask the youths”, before he abruptly terminated the call.
Efforts to talk to Wadyajena and Moyo were unsuccessful.
Among other charges, Wadyajena stands accused of being disrespectful of the First Family,Mand being behind the province’s youth wing resolution to have Kasukuwere fired as Zanu PF national political commissar in favour of someone with liberation war credentials, a demand that was made ahead of the party’s recent conference in Victoria Falls.
“In war, he who shoots first dies next and Wadyajena is a legitimate target because he made the first shot. He has also been fighting the commissar in public and making the wrong headlines in newspapers.
“Now we have an opportunity to show him that his misplaced youthful exuberance does not work in politics. Just watch, we will reduce him to his correct size.
“He will soon learn that the party leadership will not protect you when you cross the red line as he has done on many occasions, because if they raise a helping hand they will be exposing themselves as being the ones inciting you,” a provincial youth member said aligned said to be aligned to the G40 said.
Wadyajena, who chairs the parliamentary portfolio committee on Indigenisation, has previously clashed with Kasukuwere in the National Assembly over the manner in which the Local Government minister distributed youth funds when he was Indigenisation minister.
The two men’s fierce clash in the National Assembly saw Zanu PF youths in Harare baying for Wadyajena’s blood soon afterwards, demanding his expulsion from the party.
On the other hand, Chvamba was recently admonished by Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko for mispronouncing the VP’s name during a recent rally in the province that was addressed by First Lady Grace Mugabe.
The Daily News on Sunday’s sister paper, the Daily News, also reported last week that with Mnangagwa struggling to live up to the popular caricature of his nickname, that of a ruthless crocodile, in Zanu PF’s seemingly unstoppable factional and succession wars, his supporters were being pummelled left, right and centre by their marauding party foes.
Insiders who spoke to the newspaper pointed to what happened a decade ago when many of the VP’s most ardent supporters were decimated after the so-called Tsholotsho Declaration, after being accused of plotting to oust Mugabe from power — claiming that history was repeating itself as his close allies were again being picked off one by one like lambs to the slaughter.
They said Lacoste, as Mnangagwa is fondly referred to by his loyal followers, once again stood accused of doing little that was visible in the public domain to protect leading members of his support group who were on the receiving end of the savage and unrelenting factional mauling.
Among the alleged allies of Mnangagwa who had recently come under severe pressure from inside Zanu PF were Wadyajena, Water minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, former Manicaland women’s league chairperson Happiness Nyakuedzwa, and the power couple of Monica and Christopher Mutsvangwa.
Wadyajena stands accused of denigrating Grace while he was allegedly engaging in “political banter” with businessman and fellow Zanu PF official Jimayi Muduvuri during the ruling party’s just-ended annual conference.
Nyakuedzwa and another alleged VP close ally, former Mashonaland Central youth league chairperson Godfrey Tsenengamu, were recently suspended from the ruling party for five years on allegations of fanning factionalism.
Former Harare provincial chairperson Godwills Masimirembwa, former Harare women’s league chairperson Ratidzo Mukarati and former Masvingo chairperson Paradzai Chakona — all perceived strong backers of Mnangagwministerd also suffered votes of no confidence that were upheld by the party.
Last week, Mutsvangwa — one of Mnangagwa’s closest and most vocal allies — also received a vote of no confidence from Mashonaland West province, putting his party and government positions in jeopardy after he tried to take Kasukuwere head-on.
Mutsvangwa’s wife, Monica — a deputy minister — was also recently booted out of the women’s league for defying the First Family, while Muchinguri-Kashiri came under severe shellacking in Manicaland and in a recent politburo meeting.
Muchinguri-Kashiri’s troubles, according to insiders who spoke to the Daily News, came after she allegedly told Grace in the politburo meeting that she was the most senior party official in Manicaland, and thus always needed to be consulted on important decisions impacting on the region — in addition to insinuating that Grace had allegedly failed to run the women’s league properly.
“This angered Amai (Grace) and as she spoke, she got angrier and angrier, saying ‘wakabvira kare uchindijairira … (You have never respected me)” — apparently going on to give Muchinguri-Kashiri a severe tongue-lashing which resulted in the Water minister crying.
And there is no record in all these cases that Mnangagwa has done much to support or protect his allies, a failing that well-placed sources said the VP was guilty of in 2004/5 when his supporters who allegedly included Daniel Shumba, Mike Madiro, Josiah Hungwe and July Moyo were cast into the political wilderness for fighting for him.
COMMENTS