Mugabe’s ‘gay gangsters’ exposed

By Never Kadungure in Harare

In November 1999 President Robert Mugabe accused the British Government of setting ‘gay gangsters’ on him over his violent land reform exercise.

Three activists from gay pressure group Outrage, led by Peter Tatchell, stopped Mugabe’s car and tried to carry out a citizens’ arrest in October 1999 accusing him of “homophobia and human rights abuses against the people of Zimbabwe”.

A furious Mugabe later told the state owned Sunday Mail newspaper that the UK Labour government was behind the gay activists who ambushed his car.

The Zanu PF leader has over the years made his homophobic views clear describing gays and lesbians as ‘worse than pigs.’

With this history in mind it is astonishing that Mugabe’s own Youth Development and Indigenisation Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has now been outed as gay.

What makes the irony click into place is that Saviour is one of the most violent Zanu PF ministers around with a track record only matched by the ruthless Defence Minister Emerson Mnangagwa and Air force Commander Perence Shiri.

Kasukuwere is the godfather of the Chipangano hit terror squad that caused mayhem and suffering for MDC supporters in the run-up to several elections since 2000.

Kasukuwere as deputy youth minister was nicknamed ‘Paraquat’ for encouraging party youths to rub the poisonous herbicide onto the torture wounds of MDC activists. This meant that it was almost impossible for the wounds to ever heal and caused enormous suffering and a number of deaths.

Nehanda Radio can also reveal that Saviour amassed his wealth through many gay liaisons with rich businessmen and ministers while he was still a blue-eyed Central Intelligence Organization (CIO) hitman in Mutare.

Last year, he reportedly stole livestock where it was being kept at a farm in Concession with “students” from the Border Gezi infamous school of violence keeping guard on behalf of the corrupt minister.

Although some farmers tracked their beasts to the minister’s hideout, they were told to keep mum lest they faced unspecified action of retribution.

So when Mugabe complained of gay gangsters being set on him in the United Kingdom in 1999 he was probably thinking of the many gay gangsters in his own party.

Only last year a  31 year old Bulawayo man, Mncedisi Twala, sensationally claimed that the then ZANU PF National Chairman, John Nkomo, molested him in April 2002.

After first fleeing to South Africa Twala says he came back after the formation of the unity government and filed a police complaint in July. The police however refused to investigate the complaint and even arrested Twala.

Former Foreign Affairs Minister Stan Mudenge has in the past also faced accusations of having gay liaisons.

The CIO launched a manhunt for gay activist Dumisani Dube after he made a stunning disclosure that he had a love affair with the cabinet minister.

Dube also claimed Mudenge infected him with the deadly HIV virus several years ago.

Relatives close to Mudenge concede his health has dramatically deteriorated over the years and he was literally ‘in the departure lounge.’ Nehanda Radio