via Mutasa piles pressure on Mugabe – DailyNews Live 12 March 2015
HARARE – Disaffected Zanu PF stalwarts are cranking up the pressure on President Robert Mugabe, with former Presidential Affairs minister Didymus Mutasa alleging that the nonagenarian worsened the anarchy devouring the ruling party by supporting his controversial wife Grace’s divisive politics.
In a hard-hitting letter written to Mugabe at the end of January this year, Mutasa also said the nonagenarian had done absolutely nothing to date to mitigate the ructions bedevilling the party, as well as the chaos spawned by his wife.
“The nationwide rallies and meetings conducted by the First Lady Amai Grace Mugabe became divisive and acrimonious, directly threatening party leaders and members perceived to be associated with the party Vice President and second secretary Amai Joice Teurai Ropa Mujuru.
“Contrary to expectations that your excellency would intervene objectively and restore sanity; you ominously joined the fray and became judge and juror, over all and sundry,” Mutasa said.
Grace entered mainstream politics last year, following her unexpected nomination to lead Zanu PF’s Women’s League.
But Mutasa, in his letter — which is an annexure to the Constitutional Court application that he filed together with his nephew Temba Mliswa challenging their disputed expulsion from Parliament last week — believes Grace’s entrance into politics was a major source of the problems bedevilling the party, particularly when she embarked on her controversial “Meet the people” rallies around the country.
During the rallies, Grace ruthlessly savaged a number of party bigwigs — chiefly Mujuru — accusing them of corruption and planning to topple her 91-year-old husband from power.
In the letter, Mutasa said pursuant to Grace’s utterances at her rallies, several party cadres perceived to be linked to Mujuru had been booted out from their offices through irregular votes of no confidence.
He described the purges as “unprocedural and unconstitutional”.
“The nomination process for central committee positions was fraught with intimidation, threats of violence, violence, repression and as such, in no way, could it have been free, fair and constitutional.
“Constitutional amendments were railroaded before the congress in direct contravention of the constitutional provisions that regulate such amendments, in particular Article 30 of the party Constitution read with Section 253,” Mutasa said.
He said the events in the period prior to, during, and after the congress resulted in the forced removal of constitutionally-elected party leaders in nine out of 10 provinces.
“The politburo and central committee meetings immediately preceding that congress were shrouded in threats, fear and total failure to express individual opinion.
“This is based on the glaring summary suspensions, expulsions and direct malicious accusations of treason and singularisation of individuals by the president,” Mutasa said.
He added that the actions resulted in a “highly divided party, illegal and unconstitutional structures in Zanu PF with no legal basis to form a credible government”.
“Your Excellency, sanity needs to be restored in the party and we appeal to you to decisively take the necessary and corrective actions for the welfare of the party and nation.
“We are confident of your desire to expeditiously resolve this fundamental and critical matter for the good of the valiant liberation party and legacy,” Mutasa said.
Mutasa also queried the way the ruling party’s congress delegates had been accredited, adding that the way the issue had been handled disregarded Zanu PF’s standing rules and procedures.
“Numerous elected leaders were barred from attending that congress through direct and unrestrained threats to their safety and well-being.
“Several members and senior leaders of Zanu PF, including myself, do not regard that December meeting as a congress,” he asserted.
Mutasa, together with former Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo, have since filed a High Court application seeking to nullify the congress.
“The present application is one that seeks a declaration to the effect that the first respondent (Zanu PF)’s congress that was held in December 2014 was a nullity and was held in breach of the respondent’s own constitution.
“Connected to the illegality of the congress is the unlawfulness and unconstitutionality of certain appointments and decisions that were made and of certain constitutional amendments that were made,” Mutasa said in his High Court affidavit.
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