The self-exiled former Zanu PF political commissar Savior
Kasukuwere has for the first time opened up to the media since the November
2017 military takeover when he, together with other Generation 40 (G40) faction
members skipped the borders in fear of being killed or arrested by the new
government.
In an telephone interview with TellZim News from
his base outside the country, Kasukuwere opened up on what he thinks about the
current government led by President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
He said Zimbabwe was in a mess and that corrective measures
had to be taken for the country to prosper; adding that the mafia-style
leadership being exhibited by Mnangagwa and his government should be put to an
end.
“The country is being run by a mafia and it is in a mess.
Corrective measures have to be taken to right a lot of wrongs.
“I will not speak about my future plans yet because one has
to be strategic. You will hear of my plans when the time comes and I promise
you that we will make Zimbabwe a pride for everyone,” said Kasukuwere.
Kasukuwere’s plans have shaken Zanu PF to the core as many
within the ruling party are said to still bear allegiance to the former
national political commissar who, during his term, managed to solidify his
control of the ruling party’s lower structures.
The launch of the TysonWabantu Movement in Bulawayo may be
the first signs of the coming of Kasukuwere.
In November of 2017, the politics of the country and Zanu
PF were re-written after the military effected a coup which marked the end of
former president Robert Mugabe’s 37 years of a ‘brutal’ and ‘disastrous’ reign.
The same military take over brought to an end one of the
worst factional fights in Zanu PF with the Mnangagwa-aligned faction, Team
Lacoste, prevailing over the Generation 40 faction aligned to former First Lady
Grace Mugabe.
The G40 faction was in a habit of louding its dominance,
oblivious to the military power behind Team Lacoste.
Lacoste waited for the opportune time to strike and they
did so swiftly and with precision leaving G40 confused as to what had hit them.
All perceived members of the G40 faction were hunted down
with some going into exile.
Mnangagwa promised a new dispensation where the Mugabe play
book would be thrown out of the window and many people believed him only to be
disappointed later on.
A few months later, Mnangagwa went back on his word and the
man who claimed to be as soft as wool proved to be as tough as nails, giving
credit to those who nicknamed him Crocodile.
The situation in the country has gone from bad to worse leaving
many wondering why they participated in the military-led march to oust Mugabe.
It was not long before many Zimbabweans became
disillusioned and wished they could go back to the Mugabe era where they claim
life was better than under the ‘new dispensation’.
Life has become difficult for the majority of Zimbabwe with
prices rising unabated and salaries getting eroded by inflation. Mnangagwa has
kept his hands on the trigger to scare off any threat to his power in the face
of pressing economic matters.
It is too late now for Zimbabweans to raise their voices
against the Mnangagwa-led administration because he has proven to be more
brutal and lethal against dissenting voices.
Desperate citizens are increasingly turning to religion
where some unscrupulous men of cloth rob them of their hard-earned resources in
the promise of a better life that never comes
People have tried to vote Zanu PF out of power but that
strategy has failed since independence prompting many to come to terms with the
reality that Zanu PF has mastered the techniques of staying in power.
Many people believed in the Nelson Chamisa-led MDC but it
has proven to be ineffective to confront Zanu PF in an election or the streets.
It has become apparently clear that Zimbabwe now needs a
saviour beyond Mnangagwa and Chamisa.
Since rumours of the vanquished G40 faction regrouping to
challenge Zanu PF in 2023 elections have begun spilling from across the
Limpopo, many Zimbabweans have found themselves divided on whether the former
local government minister and former Zanu PF national political commissar
Saviour Kasukuwere, who is exiled in South Africa, could be equated to the
biblical Joshua who will take the people to the promised land.
Kasukuwere is being touted as new leader of yet-to-be
unveiled party made up largely of former G40 functionaries to challenge
President Mnangagwa in 2023.
The composed Tyson, as Kasukuwere is nicknamed, has however
managed to keep his cards close to his chest leaving many guessing his next
moves.
What has become clear is that Kasukuwere is bitter with
Zanu PF and now that all the criminal charges levelled against him have been
dropped, he can now come back into the country and be the saviour everyone so
desperately needs.
The Zanu PF national political commissar Victor Matemadanda
once told a Masvingo provincial inter-district meeting that those wavering
members whose allegiance is in question would be kicked out of the party.
Matemadanda made the threats after it was reported that G40
had a secret meeting in Masvingo in which they laid the foundation for the
coming of Kasukuwere.
“We want people who are true to the party. Those who are
wavering must go where they think they belong. Make no mistake, Zanu PF did not
take this country to let it go like that.
“This country was left without a President when Mugabe
resigned and President Mnangagwa was out of the country then. No one dared to
sit of the throne, not even Kasukuwere. So what does he think has changed now?
We all waited for President Mnangagwa to come back,” said Matemadanda then.
However, some sources who reportedly harbour loyalty for
Kasukuwere told TellZim News that Zanu PF was trying to isolate Kasukuwere by
luring all people around him.
It is said that Zanu PF has compromised all people who
could make any Kasukuwere-led party a formidable force by giving them lucrative
deals.
The sources say the formation of The Zimbabwe People’s
Party (ZPP) which is led by another former G40 functionary and former cabinet
minister Walter Mzembi, is testimony of the Zanu PF hand hard at work.
“The plan is to isolate Kasukuwere and take away all the
people around him. Zanu PF is trying to reach out to all the G40 elements and
offer them deals so that they do not join Kasukuwere.
“Do you really think Mzembi can be President? Mzembi personally knows that he is far from
being a leader of anyone but his party was only created to create diversion.
Kasukuwere is
an idea whose time has come,” said one source.
Political analyst Alexander Rusero said Kasukuwere will
never be the saviour of Zimbabwe due to the historical baggage he carries.
“Kasukuwere is definitely not the saviour. For the
umpteenth time, the balance of power in Zimbabwe shall be confined to binary
politics of MDC and Zanu PF.
“The burden Kasukuwere carries is to be labelled a former
Zanu PF who cannot do anything new, a Zanu PF project and diversionary gimmick
ahead of 2023 and or a political spent-force whose movement will die a natural
death,” said Rusero. TellZim News
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