Grace Mugabe strikes again

By Mugove Tafirenyika

HARARE – The deadly factional and succession wars that are devouring President Robert Mugabe’s post-congress Zanu PF hit new lows yesterday when the women’s league moved to banish under-fire Macro-Economic Planning deputy minister Monica Mutsvangwa from within its ranks.

This followed her alleged recent act of defiance when she openly threw her weight behind under-fire allies of embattled Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Manicaland — apparently against the wishes of First Lady Grace Mugabe.

In an unusually bold move in late October, Monica dismissed claims by Grace’s allies in the province that a meeting of the regional structure of the women’s league, and which reversed the purported ouster from her position of provincial leader Happiness Nyakuedzwa, was null and void.

Well-placed sources told the Daily News last night that Grace had chaired a meeting of the women’s league yesterday which suspended Monica, who is also the women’s league national spokesperson.

League secretary for administration Esphenah Nhari has also apparently been booted out.

The two were said to have been accused of undermining the First Family as the Mnangagwa faction continues to lose its key people ahead of Zanu PF’s potentially-explosive conference taking place this week in the resort town of Victoria Falls.

Their fate will now lie with the national disciplinary committee, which has among its members, Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, the first lady herself and party political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere — all of whom are said to be fighting from the same corner in the deadly Zanu PF war to succeed Mugabe.

Zanu PF’s ambitious Young Turks, commonly referred to as the Generation 40 (G40), are said to be backing the first lady in the war to succeed her increasingly-frail husband, and not Mnangagwa.

The G40 are also agitating that at least one of the party’s two vice presidents should be a woman — a move insiders say is designed to block the Midlands godfather’s alleged presidential aspirations.

“Mutsvangwa was suspended for disrespecting the league’s secretary (Grace) as well as fanning factionalism in Manicaland by interfering with the province’s politics, while Nhari was fired for her “Pasi ne G40 slogan’ and for undermining the first family.

“In the case of Monica (Mutsvangwa), the Manicaland province had recommended her suspension because she was clearly fighting the first lady,” the league member who spoke to the Daily News said.

At a rally that was addressed by the first lady in Masvingo last week, Nhari was admonished by Mphoko when she stood up to chant a slogan castigating the G40.

Mutsvangwa, who apparently boycotted yesterday’s women’s league conference after getting wind of her impending sack, was not picking up her phone when efforts were made to get her comment.

The Daily News was also reliably told last night that there were frantic efforts in Mashonaland West to also pass a vote of no confidence against Monica’s husband — War Veterans minister Chris Mutsvangwa — with the couple standing accused of belonging to the under-fire Mnangagwa camp.

The sources also claimed that the couple’s careers in both Zanu PF and government were “as good as finished”.

“Mashonaland West province is planning on passing a vote of no confidence on Mutsvangwa for undermining the president. The province is not happy that he has been calling on the president to replace some people in the politburo.

“Who is he to tell the president this? Is he sending the message that His Excellency‘s appointments are not intelligent? We cannot have such an individual in the province, and so we want him out,” a Mashonaland West central committee member said.

The Daily News recently reported authoritatively that the G40 was working overtime in cahoots with other allies of Grace to “neutralise” Monica and her husband.

The power couple, both war veterans, also bizarrely stand accused of being “closest supporters” of former Vice President Joice Mujuru, as the ruling party’s seemingly-unstoppable factional and succession wars get uglier and more confused.

“The strategy to neutralise Ngwena (Mnangagwa) in the succession war by hammering his most ardent and dedicated supporters is gathering steam.

“The fact is that Chris and his wife, with their solid liberation credentials, have been identified as two of Ngwena’s strongest allies who must be eliminated at all costs, hence the many false claims against them,” a Zanu PF central committee member said.

Another well-placed source said more senior party officials loyal to Mnangagwa were set to face the chop in the next few weeks and months, as the post-congress Zanu PF’s factional and succession wars continued to escalate, and as the battle to succeed Mugabe deepened.

Addressing Zanu PF Harare province’s conference at the weekend, Kasukuwere came out guns blazing, fingering his party foes, including Mutsvangwa, in a plot to oust Mugabe from power.

“We know what we are talking about, some of you have turned against him (Mugabe). You no longer like the president of our party. You are hiding behind the G40 (claims about the G40 to advance this agenda).

“If what I am saying will cause my death, then I am available. Go ahead and kill me. Enough is enough of this Mutsvangwa nonsense. Enough is enough. We are ready to take the war anywhere be it in the air or on the ground,” the angry Kasukuwere fumed.

“We are aware of your machinations, musarove imbwa makaviga mupinyi (your plot is a transparent one). The person you no longer want is president Mugabe. Let us be frank with each other. We know that is what you are after.

“You are going for president Mugabe because you are used to making money using this succession issue. But president Mugabe is still there. So, we are taking our gloves off. We are taking our gloves off. We will not be intimidated by criminals we know … We will defend ourselves. We are behind president Mugabe,” Kasukuwere added.

Meanwhile, a Harare province resolution to expel Zanu PF supporters from the party who condemn the G40 has only served to confirm the rampant factionalism devouring the former liberation movement.

Analysts who spoke to the Daily News yesterday said the resolution not only betrayed the existence of factionalism, but also gave the impression that Mugabe and his wife Grace were pro-G40 in the party’s ugly succession wars.

Afghanistan-based commentator Maxwell Saungweme also said the resolution was a possible precursor to a “sinister political move” by the G40 against its rivals.

“By now everyone should know that such motions in the ruling party are always a prelude to something well-orchestrated coming.

“It looks like the party is in disarray and fighting itself from within and anything is possible. There is nothing so telling of cluelessness in an organisation than its key members being so busy, not with fulfilling policies and mandates of the entity, but engaging in name- calling and being on each other’s throat,” he said.

University of Zimbabwe political Science lecturer, Eldred Masunungure, described the Harare resolution as “absurd and senseless”.

“It is testimony that the faction they seek to portray as non-existent is actually real and active. Such a resolution will however, escalate the fights as it dawns on their (G40) rivals that they are really on the ground.

“It speaks to the escalating factional fights, but I don’t think the resolution will go anywhere beyond Harare province as it lacks merit. It is senseless,” he said. Daily News