Simon Khaya-Moyo savages Mutasa

HARARE – Simon Khaya-Moyo, the Zanu PF spokesman, has hit back at Didymus Mutasa after the former Presidential Affairs minister and ex-Zanu PF secretary for administration, lampooned the “illegitimate congress” held in December.

In a stinging statement issued this month, Mutasa argued that according to the party’s constitution, a true Zanu PF congress must be elective, providing a free and fair platform for all the party members to elect leaders of their choice without intimidation, victimisation, fear or trepidation and this was not the case.

After a period of silence Khaya-Moyo came out swinging yesterday and said:

“He (Mutasa) needs to appreciate and come to terms with the fact that he is no longer the Zanu PF secretary for administration. His feeble attempt to dismiss a constitutionally convened congress is ridiculous in the extreme and needs to be dismissed as we hereby do with the contempt it deserves.”

Khaya-Moyo said Mutasa “in keeping with the party constitution, (was) the one responsible for the convening of that congress as well as inviting delegates to the same congress. Mutasa’s remarks are, therefore, extremely absurd in the circumstances.”

A defiant Mutasa has demanded that Zanu PF revert to the pre-6th December leadership, which resulted in the elevation of, among others, new vice presidents Emmerson Mnangagwa and Phelekezela Mphoko.

“The sad events of the past months reflect a deep-seated historical failure by the party leadership to correctly handle internal contradictions in the party. Each time the party faces challenges, it resorts to brute force,” Mutasa wrote.

“It fails to sum up its mistakes and experiences and provide durable solutions. Contradictions within the party and society as a whole are natural and expected, but these are non antagonistic and should be resolved through debate, dialogue and negotiations,” Mutasa added.

Mutasa said he had signed the statement on behalf of “the entire membership of the party who believe in constitutional law and authority, and the principle of one-man one-vote”, as well as “all elected office bearers who have been unconstitutionally and unceremoniously removed from office without charge”.

Mutasa’s statement “categorically” refuted and dismissed all the allegations “peddled by certain counter-revolutionaries” that Mujuru plotted against the president, arguing that it was a “preposterous and clear political smear campaign intended to tarnish and obliterate Amai Mujuru’s history of commitment and dedication to the liberation of this country”.

The former cabinet minister said the meetings in the run-up to the congress late last year were characterised by fear and intimidation, as well as trepidation.

“It will go down in the annals of our Zanu PF history that for the first time, the elected leader alienated himself from the people by this behaviour. Instead of mapping the road for Zimbabwe’s economic recovery and major policies uplifting our people, the congress became a farce and degenerated into a praise and worship playhouse,” said Mutasa.

However, Khaya-Moyo, who, for years was linked to Mujuru’s faction, said the claims were absurd because “the amendments to the party constitution were completely procedural as they were discussed by the politburo, approved by the central committee and endorsed by congress”.