via You are selling out again, President tells Gumbo – The Sunday Mail Nov 9, 2014
President Mugabe has expressed reservations about Cde Rugare Gumbo’s loyalty, while making reference to the fact that the ruling party’s spokesperson has previously sought to unseat Zanu-PF’s First Secretary.
Cde Gumbo was imprisoned in the last years of the Second Chimurenga after opposing the Zanu-PF leadership and was released at the express request of the British government as a precondition to holding of democratic elections.
At independence in 1980 he vainly de-campaigned President Mugabe and stood for Parliament – and lost – on a Zanu Ndonga ticket.
And at the Zanu-PF Politburo meeting of October 30, 2014, President Mugabe said point blank to Cde Gumbo that he felt he was selling out like he had before.
This was within the context of current allegations that Cde Gumbo is using his position as party spokesperson to advance the interests of a faction understood to be pursuing President Mugabe’s ouster at Zanu-PF’s December elective Congress.
President Mugabe said, “Madyira (Cde Gumbo’s clan name), mavakupandukira President kechipiri.”
Cde Gumbo was unable to respond, and in subsequent media interviews made no mention of this even as he went on to embellish the outcomes of that Politburo meeting.
Efforts to get a comment from him were fruitless by the time of writing.
The Zanu-PF spokesperson has a well-documented history of opposing President Mugabe’s leadership, starting in the mid-1970s when after the assassination of Zanu Chair Cde Herbert Chitepo he rebelled.
He and several others, including the likes of the late Wilfred Mhanda, were imprisoned and handed over to Mozambique’s authorities.
In 1979, on the eve of Zimbabwe’s independence, British political leaders – encouraged by Labour’s Tony Benn – insisted that the group be released as a precondition for Zanu-PF’s participation in the 1980 elections.
Transitional Governor Lord Soames had wide-ranging powers to determine who could and who could not contest that poll.
Historians and analysts have previously said the British establishment believed that this group could splinter Zanu-PF and erode its electoral muscle, while the Rhodesians thought they could use the embittered men to de-campaign President Mugabe.
They were debriefed by Rhodesian authorities and let loose on the public in time for the elections.
According to Mhanda’s own account, in his memoirs titled “Dzino: Memories of a Freedom Fighter”, “We flew into Salisbury airport to a small, cheering group that had gotten wind of our impending arrival from Soames’ office … Upon our arrival, we were taken to Tomlinson Depot of the BSAP (British South Africa Police).
“There, over a period of two days, we were debriefed and vetted by the Rhodesian Special Branch and then transferred to the Skyline Motel, about 20 kilometers to the south of Harare. Superintendent Jeff Price of the Rhodesian Special Branch was assigned to us.”
Cde Gumbo got himself onto the Zanu Ndonga party list for the parliamentary polls.
The country used a party list system for the first election, where MPs were not directly elected but rather secured seats via a proportional representation system.
Cde Gumbo was on the Ndonga list for Midlands electoral district, along with Joseph Taderera – who was also implicated in the 1976 coup attempt.
Other notable figures who contested on Ndonga tickets, apart from the obvious national leaders of the formation such as Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole, were Henry Hamadziripi and Crispen Mandizvidza (in Victoria electoral distric, now Masvingo).
During campaigning in Mberengwa, Midlands, Cde Gumbo is understood to have met current Foreign Affairs Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, who was contesting under Zanu-PF.
Cde Gumbo reportedly said to Cde Mumbengegwi: “Nemikwende yatakakurongerai muchafa senhunzi. (Loosely translated, “We have a plan for you guys and you are going to die like flies.”)
This may have been within the context of a plot by Rhodesia and apartheid South Africa to ally with “moderates” to destablise the country under “Operation Zero Hour”.
However, Ndonga was to be crushed in that election, failing to win a single seat.
Midlands electoral district was to be represented by Zanu-PF’s Cdes Simon Muzenda, Earnest Kadungure, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Richard Hove, Dr Simba Makoni, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Julia Zvobgo and SE Mativenga; while the Patriotic Front (subsequently known as Zapu) had Cdes Joshua Nkomo, Clement Muchachi, Cephas Msipa and William Kona.
Overall, Zanu-PF polled 209 092 votes in that district, compared to Ndonga’s 5 792.
In Masvingo (then called Victoria), Zanu-PF swept the electoral district with Cdes Mayor Urimbo, Dzingayi Mutumbuka. Edison Zvobgo, Simon Mazorodze, Oliver Munyaradzi, Nolan Morecambe, Dzikamai Mavhaire and Nelson Mawema among the 11 representatives from the party list.
The vote count for Zanu-PF there was 285 277 to Ndonga’s 8 938.
Across the country, Zanu-PF won just under 63 percent of the vote (57 of 80 common roll seats), the Patriotic Front secured 24 percent, Bishop Abel Muzorewa’s UANC took 8,2 percent and Ndonga shared around 4,6 percent with five other parties.
Cde Gumbo has himself never won an election, and his political career since 1980 has all but been because of direct appointments by President Mugabe – the same man he is today accused of trying to undo.
Observers have pointed to this as an indicator of the sheer difficulty of trying to oppose Zanu-PF’s organisation as subsequently evidenced by the failures of Cde Edgar Tekere’s ZUM and Dr Makoni’s Mavambo to unseat President Mugabe.
A Zanu-PF Central Committee member told The Sunday Mail this past week: “We know of people who think that they can challenge Zanu-PF by forming their own party if they fail to succeed with their plans to unseat President Mugabe at our Congress.
“History is clear on this; they will not succeed. It doesn’t even matter if they lull themselves into the false sense of assurance that they ‘control’ certain party structures. Just look at what happened to (Nelson) Chamisa and how he lost the (MDC-T) secretary-general post even though he thought he had the support of 11 (out of 12) provinces. They will freeze outside of Zanu-PF.”
COMMENTS
If this is true then Herald should as well investigate the BIG DZAKUTSAKU of the late 70’s called Josia Hungwe. Remember the song Rodhesian Broadcasting Corporation’s song Mabhinya! Binya! Chamuka inyama! and the programme accompanied by the song. Handitauri zvakawanda. Go to Hillside town ship Masvingo and ask for one Last Born “Nome de Guerra” and he will narrate how the old man used to cause trouble in the Gaza zone (Victoria Province). If I were Mugabe I would not trust people like him and Kasukuwere; whose father was a DA (not district administrator) mutengesi who caused a lot of suffering in Mt Darwin—-ask comrade LongChase if he is still alive. I last talked to him when he was in Mbare _suffering without anyone to care for him
poor analysis ,think again
Mugabe u ar a old n a liability to the country. U even knw tht ur oppression z more than the whites. U cant walk in any street alone wthout bodygaurds becoz u ar hated by everybody. They wl kill u wth bare hands I tell u. U even knw tht u lied, killed, stole money, rigged elections. If heaven z there u not at all a candidate for heaven u dnt qualify coz u hv caused suffering to innocent Zimbos yet u ar f Malawian origin. To hell wth u.
Herbert Chitepo died in the 1960s, is the rest of the article as much rubbish? They might mean Edison Sitole who “disappeared” in the late 1970s.
Point of correction
Herbert Chitepo died on 18 March 1975 in Lusaka Zambia
@Kevin, Herbert Chitepo died on Tuesday 18 March 1975 in Lusaka, Zambia.
Kevin get your facts right. Herbert Chitepo died in Zambia 1975
Who is this Robert Mugabe who cannot be challenged? This is a 90 year old geriatric who in a normal society should be having the least amount of responsibilities and spent more time looking after himself.
You cannot blame people who would like him to go because it’s most normal thing to do especially when the office bearer is going for 91. He should have left a long time ago, there is nothing special about Mugabe that he should be in office in his 90s. His incompetence is there for everybody to see.
Also what exactly did he contribute to the war effort? Given his incompetence I doubt he was that much involved apart from reading newspapers in Maputo and then hopping onto the plane for various meetings.
Whether Rugare stood for the elections under ZANU ndonga is neither here nor there,fact is these guys were intelligent enough to see Bob for what he truly is-usurper of the revolution and thief of our FREEDOM.By freedom I mean real freedom for which so many fighters lost their lives for.Now you wanna tell us about Gumbo being a British agent when everyone knows that the Brits with CIA help rigged the elections in Bob’s favour coz they thought Nkomo was too militant as far as the land issue was concerned.Plus iye Matibili anoda kudzvurwa ndove kumusana achitonga chete?Zimbabwe has 13 million people and any of them can do a better job believe you me.
This article is written by Jonathan Moyo the so called spin doctor a well known gay gangster. he does not know the true history of ZANU and Zimbabwe. How did he get his PHD…go back to your Fond Foundation, stupid gay thing. You are confusing these ZANU old guys so much that you have destroyed the party
The British actually campaigned for Bob in 1980. They wanted their tea boy to become the leader of the country to protect their interests in 1980, the reason Bob was knighted even though he was killing thousands in Mthwakazi. Dont try and rewrite history. Everyone knows Bob was the darling of the west then, so spinning that Gumbo wanted to decampaign him with assistance from the British is a lot of BBS.
It seems in Zanu being ambitious is synonymous with kutengesa. Iye Bob wega ndiye anobvumirwa kuva pachigaro. Tsvangirai akatengesa, Mozorewa akatengesa. Uko kunonzi kutengesa kumboita sei chaizvo?
it is a good thing to give youths power and look at what they are doing. my fear is that one of this fine days they will give the president a VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE.WATCH THE SPACE