The Zanu PF youth league has demanded that government
repossesses at least 15 farms allegedly owned by former First Lady Grace Mugabe
and redistribute them to youths.
This follows claims by President Emmerson Mnangagwa that
the former First Family owns a staggering 16 commercial farms in a revelation
that could reignite the public spat between the Zanu PF leader and his
predecessor Robert Mugabe.
Zanu PF youth league deputy secretary Lewis Matutu, who is
also a member of the party’s politburo, said the ex-Zanu PF women’s league boss
should be left with one farm and the rest subdivided and distributed to
landless youths.
“Now that it has been revealed that Grace Mugabe owns 16
farms, we are demanding that she chooses one and the other 15 be sub-divided
into 10-hectare plots for youths within two weeks,” Matutu tweeted.
Matutu’s boss, Pupurai Togarepi said the farms should be
repossessed.
“We want the farms back!” Togarepi stated.
Mugabe, who was toppled in a coup in November 2017 to pave
way for Mnangagwa, has repeatedly accused the new administration of hounding
his family.
At some point, Mugabe claimed that the Mnangagwa regime was
harassing workers at his Blue Roof mansion.
In the build-up to the July 2018 elections, Mnangagwa said
he suspected that Grace was behind the White City Stadium bomb explosion that
claimed two lives and left many Zanu PF officials injured, including
Vice-President Kembo Mohadi and his counterpart Constantino Chiwenga’s wife,
Marry.
Mnangagwa was lucky to escape unscathed. Last year, war veterans petitioned government, demanding
that the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport, named after the former
leader, be changed as the ex-Zanu PF boss no longer deserved to be honoured
because he was now dining with the main opposition, MDC.
The two appeared to have mended their relationship after
the government hired an expensive private jet for Grace to come home and bury
her mother last year, but Mnangagwa’s revelation that the former First Lady is
one of the bigwigs set to lose some farms after the conclusion of the land
audit could create tension.
Taking questions on his first radio interview hosted by the
State-controlled CapitalkFM on Friday, Mnangagwa disclosed that Grace had 16
farms although he did not mention her by name, but used a pseudonym, “Dr Stop
it”.
“The (land audit) is still on-going and results will be
made public. The briefing I have received is that only two provinces are left
to complete the process. The main issue we have identified is the issue of
multiple farm ownership, especially among people in higher offices. For
example, I know of one lady who has 16 farms — Dr Stop It,” disclosed
Mnangagwa.
Grace became known as “Dr Stop It” at the height of Zanu PF
factional wars where she used rallies to admonish Mugabe’s then deputies —
Joice Mujuru and Mnangagwa.
She accused the two of trying to usurp Mugabe’s power to
enrich themselves. Mujuru was eventually kicked out of government in 2014,
while Mnangagwa was fired in November 2017 before he bounced back a few days
after the military coup.
Attempts to get a comment from the Mugabes were fruitless,
but Jealousy Mawarire, the spokesperson of the National Patriotic Front, a
party that was linked to the ex-leader said Mnangagwa had lied.
“That could have been possible had your so-called President
not been hallucinating. You are better off sharing his 700 gold mines than
non-existent farms,” Mawarire said.
Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo said the youth league
was better placed to comment on the matter.
“Let their spokesperson deal with that, we shall deal with
it when it is escalated to us,” Khaya Moyo said. Newsday
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