Rugare Gumbo expelled from Zanu PF

HARARE – The Zanu PF congress taking place in the capital Harare has officially expelled former spokesman Rugare Gumbo from the party.

Gumbo was suspended for a period of five years but it would appear a string of interviews with the independent media in which he savaged President Robert Mugabe did not go down well with loyalists.

Last week Gumbo told the weekly Zimbabwe Independent newspaper that Zanu PF was facing a grave leadership crisis, and Zimbabwe’s economic woes were a manifestation of that problem.

He said the current government, led by President Robert Mugabe, has no clue on how to resolve issues affecting the majority of the people.

“We have a serious leadership crisis and the whole world is aware of that. We have a leadership that is disjointed, a leadership that has no focus on how to resolve major issues. We have a leadership that is power-hungry and will do anything to subvert the will of the people,” Gumbo said.

“They want to remain leaders forever at the expense of the suffering majority. It is an unfocused leadership that is concerned with its own interests, not addressing the concerns of the people.”

“Mugabe has lost direction and he is being used by power hungry people. He has practically lost control of the party. He should not have allowed the First Lady to attack long-time comrades like that; and that on its own shows he is no longer in control. He has no vision. You cannot bulldoze amendments to the constitution so that it fits into what opportunists want.

“He has to respect the constitution. How can a leader who is in charge allow illegal purges of elected provincial executives like that. It means he is detached from the people. He is not the one controlling those provinces anymore and this should ring a bell that it’s time for change of leadership,” Gumbo said in the interview.