SPARKS flew in an explosive Zanu PF politburo meeting where
Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa responded to allegations raised by Higher and
Tertiary Education minister Jonathan Moyo who accused him of plotting to unseat
President Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwe Independent can reveal.
Moyo on July 19 presented a case in the politburo against
Mnangagwa accusing him of scheming to topple Mugabe.
Zanu PF politburo sources revealed there was a tense
atmosphere in the politburo on Wednesday where Mnangagwa turned his guns on
Moyo, accusing him of being a Western-affiliated mole.
As Mnangagwa was about to present his response, Grace
Mugabe tried to block him, raising issues of sub judice.
“When he was about to start his presentation, the First
Lady, Grace Mugabe said Mnangagwa should withdraw his court challenge against
Moyo if he wants to present his response as it would be sub judice,” a source
in the politburo said.
In response, Mnangagwa pointed out that as a lawyer he knew
what to say and what not to say during his presentation.
Mnangagwa said he would not comment on allegations he
forced former television presenter Godfrey Majonga to jump from the third floor
of a Harare building as the matter was sub judice.
The vice-president filed a US$3 million defamation lawsuit
against Moyo after he refused to apologise for alleging that he forced Majonga
to jump out of a flat.
Mnangagwa had given Moyo seven days to retract the claims,
but the latter indicated he was prepared to go to court.
“Before Mnangagwa presented, he played an eight-minute
video which showed Zanu PF national political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere addressing
a rally in Hurungwe in June 2015,” the politburo member said.
“In the video, Kasukuwere details Mnangagwa’s history from
the liberation struggle and his loyalty to Mugabe for the past 55 years.
Kasukuwere described Mnangagwa as Mugabe’s most trusted person in Zanu PF,
saying he is deployed to carry out assignments which others would have failed
to,” the source added.
In the last part of the introductory video, Mnangagwa
questions Moyo’s loyalty by showing a list of quotations from Moyo, which he made
during the time he was out of Zanu PF after he was fired from the party in 2005
for his involvement in the Tsholotsho Declaration.
In one of the quotes, Moyo said: “The mind of the
electorate is now fixed against Mugabe that if he were to contest against a
donkey in the run-off, the donkey would win by a landslide not because anyone
would vote for it, but simply because people would vote against Mugabe and thus
benefit the donkey.”
The sources said Mugabe just held his head and shook it as
the quotations rolled down the screen.
Mnangagwa, sources said, told the politburo that Moyo was
working for an American spy outfit, the Central Intelligence Agency, and that
he had been feeding Zanu PF’s enemies with official secrets, including details
of cabinet and politburo meetings.
“Mnangagwa said had it not been for the protection he is
enjoying, Moyo should have long been charged with treason and espionage for
leaking sensitive cabinet files which contravenes the Cabinet Handbook,”
another senior party official said.
In his presentation, Mnangagwa denied Moyo’s allegation
that he was capturing state institutions.
“He (Mnangagwa) took the politburo through the appointment
process of the new chief justice and said he was doing everything in
consultation with the president. He even accused Moyo, his co-Vice-President
Phelekezela Mphoko, (Public Service minister) Patrick Zhuwao and the late
former Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku of holding several meetings at
Mphoko’s house which would run into the early hours of the morning as they
plotted to derail the appointment of a new Chief Justice.”
Mnangagwa also denied capturing the Zimbabwe
Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc). He said it was the president’s prerogative
to appoint or fire the commissioners. He also stated that it was not factual
that he ensured that his preferred candidate for the post of
Prosecutor-General, Ray Goba, got the post despite a criminal case he once
faced in Namibia.
“Mnangagwa said the president made sure that due diligence
was done before Goba’s appointment. A team was dispatched at the instigation of
the president to Namibia to check on the criminal case and it was discovered
that he was cleared of the charges and had been promoted twice since then. It
was then that the president appointed him out of a list of three names
shortlisted by the Judicial Service Commission,” the politburo member said.
During the presentation, Moyo interjected and questioned
the vice-president’s loyalty, saying he sponsored him in 2005 when he
campaigned as an independent candidate. Moyo said Mnangagwa bought a vehicle
for him through a certain chief executive of a local bank (name supplied) to
use for the campaign.
In response, Mnangagwa said there was no way he would have
sponsored him at the time because he had crossed paths with Moyo over the 2004
Tsholotsho debacle.
Mugabe, sources said, told Moyo to bring evidence to show
that Mnangagwa bought the vehicle for him.
Turning back to the allegations raised by Moyo, Mnangagwa
said they were mere rumours based on hearsay.
“It was at this time that the former labour minister Prisca
Mupfumira jumped in, saying she lost her job because of such rumours and
hearsay from grown up men,” the source said. “Mupfumira went to remind Grace
that the same women she was dumping now were the ones that played a key role in
her appointment as the Women’s League boss.”
While Mupfumira was speaking, Water and Climate minister
Oppah Muchinguri reportedly interjected, saying she had to relinquish her post
because the women whom Grace called “the golden ladies” persuaded her to do so
despite her having the people’s mandate.
“At this time, sparks flew as other women such as Cleveria
Chizema also accused the party leadership of running Zanu PF through rumours,”
another politburo member said.
The sources said Grace fought in Moyo’s corner, saying at
least the Higher and Tertiary Education minister accepted where he has made
mistakes and apologises unlike most of the politburo members who did not.
“Grace told Mupfumira that she was dropped from cabinet
because there were reports that funds were being abused at the National Social
Security Authority and not because of Zanu PF infighting. She said this after
Mugabe pointed out that her being dropped was because of other matters.”
Mnangagwa also accused Moyo of hobnobbing with Sapes Trust
director Ibbo Mandaza, who is seen as a staunch critic of Mugabe and is already
pushing for a political transition in Zimbabwe.
After his presentation, Mnangagwa suggested that a
disciplinary process be instituted within the party so that Moyo can answer to
the charges he raised against him.
Mnangagwa recommended that with regards to issues to do
with the military, it would be proper that they be dealt with by the Joint
Operations Command. He suggested that the report and comments made by Moyo
stating that there was a coup plot be investigated by military intelligence and
other security organs.
“He (Mnangagwa) also said the final decision rests with the
president who is the appointing authority,” the source said.
A politburo source said at the end of the presentation,
Mugabe said: “We have heard everything and the challenge we have is that some
of our people want to dine with our enemies and then come back to us. Mugabe
then asked Mnangagwa to give him the presentation and his videos so that ‘he
can study them’.” zimbabwe independent
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