President Emmerson Mnangagwa fired controversial politician
Energy Mutodi following accusations that he was part of a faction undermining
the Zanu PF leader amid allegations of fissures in his government.
The onslaught against Mutodi escalated yesterday after Zanu
PF’s Mashonaland East provincial executive said he would be charged with
undermining party leaders.
Mnangagwa gave the flamboyant politician the boot, a week
after the former Information deputy minister said he was living in fear of
Foreign Affairs minister Sibusiso Moyo and Chris Mutsvangwa, a former
presidential advisor.
This was after Moyo humiliated the Goromonzi West MP when
he distanced the government from statements by the then deputy minister
ridiculing Tanzanian leader John Magufuli’s response to the coronavirus
pandemic.
Mutodi also accused his then boss in the ministry Monica
Mutsvangwa of abusing the state-controlled ZBC and The Herald to push an agenda
against him.
It has since emerged that his outbursts on social media
were a culmination of serious factional fights in government pitting ministers
aligned to Mnangagwa and those linked to Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga’s
camp.
Mutodi is said to be in Chiwenga’s camp, while Moyo and
Mutsvangwa are viewed as Mnangagwa loyalists.
The public spat pitting Moyo, who was accused by Mutodi of
behaving like a prime minister, is said to be a culmination of the fierce
tussle between the two camps.
“It is a fight over control of the government media outlets
by some senior officials in the President’s Office and there is an attempt to
undermine the president with Mutodi claiming to have contacts with some people,
whom he said were the real people with power in the country,” said a government
official.
“He has some bigwigs behind him. All what he was doing had
the backing of very senior people.
“These are the people, who were giving him the confidence
to insult his seniors in government.
“He was telling people that there was a new power base in
government and was trying to recruit them into his camp.
“He told some people, known Mnangagwa loyalists, that they
had sold out, but he was asked who was now leading a new centre of power as he
claimed.”
The official claimed that Monica Mutsvangwa was one of the
ministers that Mutodi’s alleged backers had targeted and they wanted her pushed
out.
Moyo was not picking calls yesterday while permanent
secretary for presidential communications Regis Chikowore referred questions to
Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba, who also did not answer his mobile
phone.
Mutodi promised to return calls, but did not do so last night while Monica Mutsvangwa was said to be attending a
funeral.
Meanwhile, Zanu PF Mashonaland East said Mutodi had been
removed from his position in the provincial executive pending a disciplinary
hearing.
This followed a hastily arranged meeting of the Zanu PF
provincial executive in Murewa.
Kenneth Mutiwekuziva, the ruling party’s provincial
executive, said Mutodi would soon be dragged before a disciplinary tribunal.
“Following the sacking of Cde Mutodi as deputy minister of
Information, Broadcasting Services and Publicity in government by His
Excellency Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Mashonaland East Zanu PF provincial
executive committee sat down and deliberated on the issue and agreed that due
disciplinary processes be carried out,” he said.
“The province resolved that in terms of article 10 section
74 (1), Cde Mutodi be issued with a prohibition order and notice of charges in
writing as the party moves forward to institute the necessary disciplinary
action against him.
“The prohibition order is in regard to his position as
provincial member in Mashonaland East Province,” he said.
Rashweat Mukundu, a Harare-based political analyst, said it
was clear that Mutodi had stepped on the toes of some powerful people in
government due to the manner he was dismissed.
“He stepped on too many toes, unfortunately toes of the
most powerful people in government especially looking at his attacks on SB Moyo
a couple of weeks back,” Mukundu said.
“This is a continuation of factionalism in Zanu PF, more
so, with reports that there are contestations on whether Mnangagwa should stand
in 2023 with a faction reportedly led by the vice-president [Chiwenga] wanting
someone to take over.
“Mutodi could also be pushing a factional agenda and has
obviously fallen because of the pushback by the other faction.”
Alexander Rusero, a media expert, said Mutodi had failed to
read the politics in Zanu PF and got carried away.
“You don’t tamper and tinker with political kingmakers and
in your imagination think that you will remain politically relevant,” Rusero
said.
“Between Energy, Moyo and Mutsvangwa, we all know who
matters politically and it has been proven by his dismissal.
“If you look at the position of SB Moyo and Mutsvangwa in
Zanu PF and their stature to Mnangagwa, I think they are what Rex Nhongo was to
(the late) Robert Mugabe.
“You can equate Chiwenga to (the late Josiah) Tongogara in
the political context, unfortunately for Tongogara he died, for Chiwenga, he is
still there.
“Mutodi is a combination of political foolishness and
arrogance that has landed him where he is.”
University of Zimbabwe political science guru Eldred
Masunungure said Mutodi had left Mnangagwa with no choice, but to fire him
because of his errant behaviour.
“That was inevitable, he had gone too far. I don’t think he
was representing any factional interest of anyone,” Masunungure said.
“He was neither toeing the party nor government line and
was causing dysfunctionality in government and particularly, the president
himself as failing to control things.
“It was a way of instilling some amount of discipline.”
Factionalism had ebbed in Zanu PF following the ouster of
Mugabe in a military coup in 2017, but camps are beginning to emerge pitting
Mnangagwa’s supporters against those of Chiwenga. Standard
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