Moyo, Zhuwao gang up against Mandaza

via Moyo, Zhuwao gang up against Mandaza – New Zimbabwe 22/01/2015

INFORMATION Minister Jonathan Moyo and Patrick Zhuwao on Thursday clashed bitterly with Ibbo Mandaza after the outspoken academic had dressed Zhuwao down for “trivialising” debate which he convened under his SAPES Trust dialogue forum.

Zhuwao, a former Zanu PF politburo member and President Robert Mugabe’s nephew, was co-panellist with researcher Toney Reeler and University of Zimbabwe lecturer Zvakanyorwa Sadomba during the evening discussion forum.

“You try to simplify reality,” Mandaza said after Zhuwao’s presentation, “This is an intellectual forum. It does not go down well. Your patronising style does not help. Let me just caution you.”

Zhuwao and his co-panellists had been invited by Mandaza to speak on the current Zanu PF infighting that in December culminated in the ouster of then Vice President Joice Mujuru and more than a dozen of her allies for allegedly plotting an internal coup against Mugabe.

The fall-out has seen ousted Zanu PF secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa threaten court action against party hawks who engineered the group’s purge.

But Zhuwao, who spoke last, tore the subject down, saying it was deliberately intended to make a big issue out of what he described a one-man show by Mutasa.

Zhuwao said he was better off attending to his tobacco barns in his farm than spend time and energy speaking about an insignificant Mutasa who was still in denial that he had fallen from grace.

He further denied anyone was “purged” in Zanu PF, days running up to the party’s controversial December congress.

Zhuwao played down the Mujuru dissent blossoming into a full-fledged Zanu PF implosion.

During debate, he occasionally hung his head, giggling derisively at comments by the other co-panellists.

This prompted Mandaza, who sat in the audience, to ask Zhuwao to take the meeting seriously.

“This is a crisis in the country. There is a crisis in Zanu PF. This is clearly in my view the most serious crisis the party has ever seen and to over simply it as you are trying to do is simply self- defeating,” Mandaza said to a visibly embarrassed Zhuwao.

His comments however elicited a strong reaction from Professor Jonathan Moyo, who also sat in the audience, next to his friend Saviour Kasukuwere. Both were uninvited but Moyo spoke when contributions had been called from the floor.

“It makes us those who are members of Zanu PF feel extremely uncomfortable when non-members of our party pose as experts of our party, even experts of our constitution,” Moyo said while also referring to Reeler, who had accused Zanu PF of violating their own constitution during the tumultuous pre-December congress period.

“I don’t think you have a right to become a champion in interpreting the provisions of the Zanu PF constitution and present yourselves as better than us in understanding it.

“It is a rather surprising kind of discourse that we are witnessing that people who have always an axe to grind with us have found a convenient Didymus Mutasa to use in interpreting our congress.”

Moyo told Mandaza not to drag Zhuwao into his own political interests when he (Mandaza) had in 2004 offered his farm to the Joice Mujuru group to discuss a constitutional amendment which catapulted her into party VP.

As he spoke, Mandaza heckled the information minister. But Moyo replied to say the subject being discussed was merely an agenda setting platform created by the same Mandaza who felt bitter about the Mujuru ouster.

After Moyo had given Mandaza his piece of mind, Zhuwao picked it up with an even vitriolic attack on Mandaza, whom he said was a politician hiding behind his academic mask.

“You are attempting to write a narrative about destroying my organisation,” he said.

“Yes, this is a roomful of academics and l think l apologised about it when l said there are a lot of professionals here and l am a simple person; but l am a  political practitioner that actually delivers on missions that l get involved in.  And that does not in any way mean that you can then try and downgrade me, muriseku (uncle) yes but at least respect me when l am smiling and talking to you as a sekuru.”

Zhuwao described the Thursday SAPES discussion as the “worst” public discussion forum to which he has ever been invited.

He continued: “If you want to be a political player, you must have the guts to go out there and be a political player and not masquerade as an academic.”

SAPES is an elite discussion forum on cross-cutting issues and a favourite with Western diplomats and members of the local academia.