By Tawanda Majoni and Edgar Gweshe
A senior diplomat has revealed that former Zambian leader Kenneth Kaunda is unhappy with President Robert Mugabe for purging Zanu (PF) of Joice Mujuru and other senior party members.
The diplomat, asked not to be named, attended the recent inauguration of the new Zambian president, Edgar Lungu, where he met Kaunda and discussed Zimbabwe’s latest political developments.
Kaunda confided in him that he was concerned with the way in which Mugabe treated the former vice president, who was accused of plotting to assassinate the 90-year-old leader and sacked from her post, together with eight ministers and several senior party leaders who were accused of siding with her.
“Kaunda told me he was particularly concerned about the manner in which Mujuru is being treated,” said the diplomat. Kaunda said the internal party squabbles were inconsistent with the manner in which revolutionary parties should handle their internal affairs. He reportedly accused Mugabe and the Mnangagwa faction of immaturity.
“Kaunda said as a revolutionary party, Zanu (PF) should have a mature way of handling internal issues rather than washing dirty linen in public. He said Mujuru was a central figure who played a crucial role before and after independence, hence she did not deserve the kind of treatment she was getting from Zanu (PF),” said the source.
Kaunda warned that Mugabe’s stance on Mujuru might split Zanu (PF). “From the conversation, I saw that Kaunda was absolutely concerned about the goings on in Zanu (PF),” added the diplomat.
Former Zanu (PF) secretary for information, Rugare Gumbo, who was fired from the party last year for siding with Mujuru, said liberation movements that fought for independence were “naturally’ not impressed with how Mugabe and the Mnangagwa faction treated them.
“They (liberation movements) would never be impressed to see prominent people who participated in the armed struggle decimated and replaced with mafikizolos (party late comers) like what happened in our case. It sends wrong signals,” Gumbo told The Zimbabwean.
“We wanted our colleagues in other countries to know what happened and that is why Mutasa took the matter to SADC,” he added. The Mujuru faction, fronted by Mutasa, is in the process of lodging a court application against the December congress, arguing that it was illegally convened. The Zimbabwean
