By Brown Moyo
HARARE – Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s faction finally succeeded in pushing out former information minister Jonathan Moyo from the powerful post after last week’s mini cabinet reshuffle, Nehanda Radio can exclusively reveal.
Moyo has been critical of Mnangagwa’ s appointment and on different fora he has tried to dismiss the vice President as the heir apparent to president Robert Mugabe.
“Armed with instruments of power such as the state media, Moyo has attacked Mnangagwa left right and centre forgetting that it was Mugabe who appointed him to the VP position,” said a Mnangagwa loyalist.
“On several occasions Mugabe had to intervene and at one time in December he even gagged Moyo from writing articles that attacked Mnangagwa.”
Sources said relations between Mnangagwa and Moyo worsened when the professor insinuated that by claiming Mnangagwa was the son of God, psychomotor minister Josaya Hungwe wanted to create another centre of power in ZANU PF.
This came after Hungwe, at Mnangagwa’s celebrations said the vice President was the “son of man sent to redeem the Zimbabweans.”
“Mugabe was in Malaysia during his annual vacation but he had to call Moyo and gagged him,” said another strong Mnangagwa loyalist.
“The relations between the two politicians further soured during the run up to the June 10 by-elections,” the source told Nehanda Radio.
“We went to Tsholotsho in the company of the national commissar Saviour Kasukuwere.”
“We arrived at the venue earlier than the other vice President Phelekezela Mphoko but what shocked everyone was that Moyo snubbed us and never came to greet us for more than one and half hours,” said the source adding:
“He remained seated in his car until Mphoko arrived two hours later.”
Sources said Mnangagwa only questioned Kasukuwere on Moyo’ s behaviour on their way back.
“The last and final nail to the two’ s relations was hammered when Moyo said Mnangagwa is not guaranteed of succeeding Mugabe during his BBC Hardtalk interview,” said the source.
“So on the day before Moyo was fired Mugabe wanted Mnangagwa’s opinion over the issue but he chose not to say anything and Mugabe went on to demote him.”
A tell-tale sign of the frosty relations was the manner in which Mugabe handled the matter.
The 91-year-old Zanu PF leader embarrassed Moyo by ejecting him from a cabinet meeting almost two weeks ago using a technicality that he had to be sworn in again after winning the Tsholotsho parliamentary by-election.
Legal experts all agreed there was no need for such drama and the transition could have been handled smoothly if Mugabe really wanted to.
“The cabinet reshuffle was a smoke screen. The person they wanted to deal with was Moyo, everything else was designed to mask their motives,” another source told Nehanda Radio.
