Grace Mugabe’s rise ‘fraud’ says Sibanda

By Silas Nkala

WAR veterans’ leader Jabulani Sibanda yesterday said the meeting that endorsed First Lady Grace Mugabe’s ascension to the Zanu PF women’s league was fraudulent “from start to finish”, warning that those who planned it sought to unseat President Robert Mugabe.

The ever-blunt Sibanda told Southern Eye it was questionable that Zanu PF meetings were now being held in Mazowe, insinuating that something sinister was afoot.

“Where have you ever heard that women’s league meetings are held in Mazowe?” he asked.

“Even the war veterans’ one, it is clear that they were summoned and everything is a fraud.

“You cannot commit fraud using the president and the First Family and when we complain you say we are anti-Mugabe, yet you are the one who wants to oust Mugabe pretending to love him.”

Sibanda has refused to attend Grace’s rallies saying they were dividing the party, accentuating calls that he be relieved of his post as the head of war veterans.

But the war veterans’ leader has hit back and instead said he wanted to meet Mugabe to warn him that the Information and Broadcasting Services ministry and State media were increasingly becoming a threat to national security, as they were fanning divisions.

“There are some ministers who use ministries they are in charge of to fight party members who have no power over the ministries and we want to take these issues to the president,” he said.

“The State media is told by the ministry to only grant interviews to the side that is wanted by the minister in charge and only sources who are, for example anti-Jabu, are interviewed.

“There are people who are controlling ministries who are dangerous and are threats to security of the nation because they use their position in ministries to bulldoze into party positions.”

Jonathan Moyo is the Information and Broadcasting Services minister.

Vice-President Joice Mujuru, Sibanda and Zanu PF’s beleaguered Mashonaland West chairman Temba Mliswa have been receiving unfavourable coverage in the State media, each facing various accusations.

Sibanda said he wanted to meet Mugabe, but some government officials were trying to thwart him, yet he did not want to speak about government issues with the president, but rather about Zanu PF, which he felt was under attack.

“I have applied to see the president because of conflict in the party,” he said.

“We are worried over insults by party members on party members in public places, yet the same party leaders have forums such as the politburo and central committee meetings, where they can talk over their differences.

“We are worried by the conflict in the party and we cannot just ignore it.”

Sibanda said if the late Vice-President Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo had been alive, there would be no conflict within Zanu PF.

Likening his situation to that of the late vice-president, Sibanda said before the signing of the Unity Accord, Nkomo would ask to see Mugabe over the Gukurahundi massacres, but there were some who would block him from seeing the president.

“Nkomo would try to meet Mugabe through sending the likes of former President Canaan Banana and many others, but the same people who tried to block Nkomo from seeing Mugabe are the ones who are now blocking us,” he said.

Sibanda warned that there were power-hungry members in Zanu PF, whose ambition would drive them to destroy the party.

“Some power-hungry party members at the moment are fencing off the president so that we do not see him,” he said.

“These people are not telling the president the truth and we want to tell him the truth.

“They want to break the country into fragments, there are thousands of people who died for this country and we will not allow that to happen.

“There are a lot of things which must not be happening and we must see the president.”

Sibanda said he was not defending Mujuru and neither was he attacking Grace, but was addressing issues that needed to be solved to save Zanu PF.

Gloves are off in Zanu PF’s factional fights since Grace was endorsed as the women’s league leader.

The First Lady embarked on a whistle stop tour of the country, where she accused Mujuru of plotting to usurp Mugabe’s power. Southern Eye