Former president Robert Mugabe’s loyalists are coalescing
around former Zanu PF commissar Saviour Kasukuwere amid revelations that he is
being positioned to challenge President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the 2023
presidential elections.
Kasukuwere is one of the top Zanu PF officials that were
forced into exile after Mugabe was removed by his lieutenants in a coup in
2017.
It has since emerged that the former Local Government
minister is now preparing to return home to resuscitate his political career
after he was cleared by the courts over corruption allegations.
Kasukuwere was a key figure in the Zanu PF faction that was
known as G40, which was defeated by Mnangagwa’s Lacoste group that eventually
got the backing of the military in the battle to control the ruling party.
A splinter party formed by Mugabe’s loyalists, the National
Patriotic Front (NPF), did not take off as anticipated and only got one
parliamentary seat in elections held a year after the coup.
It is believed that that the NPF has been courting
Kasukuwere who is likely to emerge as its new leader in the coming months.
The name of the former minister who is also known as Tyson
in political circles has also been mentioned among those who can spring a
surprise challenge against Mnangagwa for the control of Zanu PF where
factionalism is said to be resurfacing.
Those that are said to be backing a possible return to Zanu
PF for Kasukuwere fear that he would not be effective as an opposition leader
as the military, which has close ties to the ruling party remained the power
broker.
Kasukuwere yesterday could neither confirm nor deny that he
was preparing to return to Zimbabwean politics.
“Am I not Zimbabwean? I have a democratic right to
participate in politics if people want me to represent them,” he said.
Sources, however, revealed that the former Zanu PF
heavyweight has been on a regional offensive where he was briefing regional
leaders about the unfolding political events in the country, which they said
showed he was back into active politics.
He has reportedly met officials from South Africa’s ruling
ANC where he is said to have told them that Zimbabwe’s problems emanated from
the military’s involvement in politics.
Kasukuwere was last month invited by South African
president Cyril Ramaphosa and former president Thabo Mbeki for memorial
services held in honour of Mugabe.
“It is not coincidental that Kasukuwere was invited by both
President Mbeki and President Ramaphosa to their memorial lectures in honour of
President Mugabe,” an NPF insider said.
The same source said Kasukuwere had visited Botswana,
Mozambique and Tanzania to apprise regional leaders about political
developments in Zimbabwe.
NPF spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire said the party has been
consulting its structures since January this year and that “indeed provincial
chairpersons met early this year to deliberate on party restructuring and
Kasukuwere’s name was put forward to lead the party.”
“Consultations are still ongoing and structures are free to
come up with names of people that they think could take the party forward,” he
added.
“We are a democratic party which values grassroots
involvement in leadership choice and we are pleased that in the past months,
there has been genuine excitement over proposals for leadership realignment in
the party”.
“The level of enthusiasm and the robust discussions have
reinvigorated everyone and we are happy that our structures are alive to the
need to put our best cadres at the front as we battle to create a peaceful,
democratic and economically conducive environment for both businesses, social
and political coexistence in the country. We are headed for very exciting and
fulfilling political times in the country, that’s all I can say for now.”
According to minutes of one of the NPF meetings, the plan
to court Kasukuwere started as far back as April.
This was after the party’s structures on April 6 nominated
him to succeed Ambrose Mutinhiri who has since returned to Zanu PF.
“The Bulawayo province nominated Cde Kasukuwere to be
president and Cde Sandy Moyo to be national chairperson and all the provinces
seconded the motion and it was agreed and endorsed by the full meeting,” READS
“The meeting went on asking me to communicate their
proposal to Mai Sandy Moyo and Cde Kasukuwere and they only gave me two days to
come back with the response.
“The meeting also chose one chairman from Mashonaland and
one from Matabeleland regions to accompany Mai Sandy Moyo to go to South Africa
to meet Kasukuwere so that they can convey their message direct to him.”
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