Ministers jostle for Mugabe birthday flights
By Brown Moyo
HARARE – Chaos rocked the Harare International Airport domestic departure lounge as ministers, senior government officials and Zanu PF supporters, fought for limited space in the chartered flights to Victoria Falls where the veteran Zimbabwe leader President Robert Mugabe will be celebrating his 91st birthday.
Judging from the pressure at the airport, bootlicking is likely to be taken to unprecedented levels where party hawks will be outdoing each other in dishing out superlatives to describe the ageing Mugabe.
In typical North Korean style, the ZANU PF youths are even pushing for Mugabe’s birthday to be declared a public holiday.
“It is a special day for all Zimbabweans, especially the youths, who should emulate this icon. We are calling for the cabinet to propose this day to be a public holiday,” said the ZANU PF secretary for youth affairs, Togarepi Pupurai, on the sidelines of the fund raising dinner for the event last week.
The North Koreans, on February 15 danced the night out celebrating the 73rd anniversary of the long dead Kim Jong II who died in December 2011.
Sources in Victoria Falls said the event has already roared into life as the resort town has been brought to life as high profile political leaders descend into town.
“We arrived safely and we are ready for the day,” confirmed the party’s national commissar, Saviour Kasukuwere.
Final day meetings were also underway as the party youth executive, who are in charge of the event, made final touch ups. However it will be the bootlicking and praise showering that is likely to dominate the event as a cabinet reshuffle looms.
The future of ministers and senior government officials has always been hanging in the balance since Mugabe engaged in a clean up that has since seen 17 ministers and deputies, including the former vice president Joice Mujuru being fired from government with some being completely expelled from the party.
“Are you checking whether we have the gamatox here,” Kasukuwere jokingly asked this reporter. Observers on social median platforms even joked that “all the people who matter in Zimbabwe are in Victoria Falls today. Those in Harare are pretenders.”
