Destroying Mujuru has weakened Mugabe
By Wilbert Mukori
The Mujuru faction is finished so what next? That is the billion dollar question that will engage the nation now.
Mugabe’s political strength up to now was based on his ability to play one faction of Zanu PF against the other(s) in which he, with no faction of his own, was then seen as the compromise candidate capable of uniting the warring factions.
Sitting on the fence in calm weather is one thing but do so in the turbulent times, arising from his advanced age and ill health and thus the real possibility that he may drop dead any minute, is another matter. You will never see a monkey sitting on a fence with gale force winds blowing.
Full marks to Mugabe he did pick the winning Mnangagwa faction when push came to shove but he is not naïve not to know that within the new political set up he is now weak and powerless.
He and his wife have been trying to bolster their own positions in the new political reality by Mugabe’s almost desperate attempt to rehabilitate the likes of Didymus Mutasa from the discredited Mujuru factions so Mugabe can have other power base still left in the central committee and politburo to counter the Mnangagwa block.
It is widely believed that it is Grace Mugabe who is pushing hard for Edna Madzongwe to be appointed VP to replace Mujuru ahead of Oppah Muchinguri just to take some sting out of the Mnangagwa-Jonathan Moyo-Oppah Muchinguri (3M) axis of power that has now emerged.
Most members from the former PF Zapu grouping have sided with the Mujuru faction but except for one or two like Jabulani Sibanda most have been careful to take no sides. The likes of Simon Khaya Moyo have been careful to follow where Robert Mugabe led them with as much passion as a turkey in a Christmas Dinner planning committee.
The ascendency of the 3M axis has made Professor Moyo the most powerful political leader from the Matebeleland region eclipsing Simon Khaya Moyo. The only thing the two share in common is the ambition to be VP and the surname!
The best solution for the nation would be for Mugabe to announce he will step down and hand over power to Mnangagwa in say two months, at the most. Mnangagwa will there emerge out of the party congress as the elected new party leader with Muchinguri and Professor J Moyo as his two VPs.
It would be good for the party to have some people with some brains for once after all the decades of deadwood VPs!
Mnangagwa will allow Grace to take up a seat in parliament or senate and appoint her into some ministerial positions. He will let the Mugabes keep all their loot including the Blue Roof Palace and whilst Mugabe is still alive his wife will have some space and time to bed in to consolidate her position.
The solution Mugabe would want and is stubborn enough to try to impose is for him to still remain leader of the party and government with Edna Madzongwe and Simon Khaya Moyo as his two VPs. The prospect of another year or more of the 3M axis playing second fiddle to yet another Mujuru type brainless busy-body in the form of Edna Madzongwe must be as appealing to them as a dish of dog vomit!
The two biggest problems with Mugabe remaining in power are that it still does not answer the big central problem of succession uncertainty, the root cause of this political crisis in the first place.
The centre of political power has definitely shifted in favour of the 3M axis and for Mugabe to shut all three out of the presidium is sheer madness. The 3M will be scrutinising every move Mugabe makes for fear he is up to some last minute dirty trick to shoulder them out of power.
A lot has happened in Zanu PF in these last few months and the party and the nation it has ruled with an iron fist all these decades are yearning for some certainty, end all this uncertainty of a corrupt and tyrannical dotting old man hanging on to power.
The nation has reached the point where many people now feel we will never move on until Mugabe is dead and buried; they are literally praying for his death!
There is a time for everything, there is a time to stand and fight and a time to turn and run; a wise man knows what is called for! If Mugabe plays hard ball now, when he is weak and feeble, then the 3M may well decide enough is enough; instead of pitching the normal cricket ball they may well fire a cannon ball!
