Togarepi opens can of worms

By Blessings Mashaya recently in Masvingo

Former Zanu PF youth league boss Pupurai Togarepi says his tiff with other youth league members, who are aligned to the Generation 40 (G40) faction, started when he refused to support the expulsion of former women’s league spokesperson Monica Mutsvangwa.

Togarepi was recently ousted from the youth league in a vote of no confidence because of his alleged links to a faction backing vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s presidential ambitions.

But the former politburo member told a faction of war veterans led by Christopher Mutsvangwa in Masvingo on Saturday that he has been discarded because of his refusal to be used in assassinating the character of Monica.

Monica, who also attended the meeting, was accused of gross indiscipline before she was expelled from the deeply-divided governing party.

“Hondo yakamuka nevamwe vandaishanda navo, ndakapiwa badza kuti nditeme mai Mutsvangwa ndikaramba (The war started when I refused to support the idea of expelling Mutsvangwa’s wife).

“I told them I cannot do that because we fought many battles with her together.”

Togarepi who was chanting Mnangagwa’s allies “pasi ne G40” (down with G40) slogan, said they will not allow anyone to plot against President Robert Mugabe.

Mnangagwa’s faction is engaged in a fierce turf contest with a camp of young Turks which is nicknamed Generation 40 (G40).

Speaking at the same occasion, Mashonaland West Central committee member Jimayi Muduvuri said he was on a mission across the country to smoke out people who are plotting against Mugabe.

Muduvuri, one of the key conveners of the war veterans meetings, told this paper that at one point he confronted Mnangagwa on allegations that he was leading a faction known as Team Lacoste in the deeply-divided Zanu PF.

According to Muduvuri, Mnangagwa distanced himself from any faction and dispatched him to go around the country’s 10 provinces with the mission to smoke out people who were “dragging the VP’s name into the mud”.

“We travelled in various provinces and no one has said he was sent by….Mnangagwa… I was involved in an accident, they want to kill me because I am on a mission to stabilise the party which means they are against Zanu PF.” Daily News