Vocal Mnangagwa ally remains jailed

By Tarisai Machakaire and Tendai Kamhungira

Outspoken former Zanu PF youth leader for Mashonaland Central Godfrey Tsenengamu — who is facing serious charges of attempting to subvert President Robert Mugabe’s government — was denied bail by a Harare magistrate yesterday.

Tsenengamu was remanded in custody to March 9 and advised to apply for bail at the High Court by magistrate Victoria Mashamba, as he is facing a grave charge.

He is also facing two other charges: violating provisions of the Public Order and Security Act (Posa) for holding a press conference in Harare without clearance, and undermining the authority of the president.

His lawyer, Zivanai Macharaga, challenged Tsenengamu’s placement on remand — arguing that in terms of the law, the prosecutor-general must issue a letter authorising the prosecution for subversion.

“No proceedings shall be instituted for the purposes of remand without authority from the prosecutor-general and the State can only proceed in terms of count one (failure to notify a regulating authority of a public meeting in contravention of the Public Order and Security Act),” Macharaga argued.

The State said the same section allowed them to proceed without any authorisation from the prosecutor general — a view that Mashamba concurred with.

Tsenengamu, according to court papers, reportedly said: “The ball is now in your hands, the war veterans, the same way you removed (the late Ndabaningi) Sithole to replace him with Mugabe. We now want you to lead us so that (Vice President Emmerson) Mnangagwa becomes the next party president going forward”.

On Monday, Tsenenegamu convened a press conference in the capital where he called for “a mega fightback” from Mnangagwa and his allies, following Mugabe’s birthday interview with the ZBC in which the nonagenarian appeared to crush the VP’s mooted presidential ambitions by saying that no one in Zanu PF was worthy of succeeding him.

“It is time we go open about this succession thing because some of us have since identified our candidate and it’s none other than (Emmerson Dambudzo) Mnangagwa. If Mugabe doesn’t like him, that is up to him, but we are saying we now want him to lead.

“To comrade Mnangagwa, Chikara, I am sorry you may say we have exposed you, but that is the game now Shumba (VP’s totem).

“We want you to take over from Gushungo and make sure that you take care of his family. So, we are going to hit the campaign trail for you as our presidential candidate next year,” Tsenengamu said in response to Mugabe’s statement.

Zanu PF is deeply divided over Mugabe’s succession, with a faction of young party Turks going by the moniker Generation 40 (G40) rabidly opposed to Mnangagwa succeeding Mugabe, and squaring up against the VP’s allies, Team Lacoste.

The two factions have been going at each other hammer and tongs, especially since the beginning of the year when it emerged that Mnangagwa had hosted sacked Zanu PF officials at his rural home during the festive season, with the G40 alleging that this was in fact a meeting organised to plot the ouster of Mugabe from power. Daily News