Last week, Musengezi approached the Bulawayo High Court
seeking the nullification of the November 19, 2017 special session of the Zanu
PF central committee meeting which elected Mnangagwa to replace the late former
President Robert Mugabe.
Through his lawyer, Nqobani Sithole, Musengezi cited Zanu
PF as the first respondent and Mnangagwa as the second, while other respondents
are party secretary for administration Obert Mpofu, acting political commissar
Patrick Chinamasa, former Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko and former Finance
minister Ignatius Chombo.
Zanu PF director of information and publicity Tafadzwa
Mugwadi yesterday said Musengezi was not a Zanu PF member, warning him to “chew
what he was capable of swallowing”.
“The official Zanu PF position on Musengezi is that the
character in question is not a member of Zanu PF,” Mugwadi said.
“As such, the party does not take cognisance of whatever he
is up to. However, we are alert to how his actions are aimed at tarnishing the
image of the party and the sooner he realises the legal consequences of such actions,
the better for him and those behind his actions. He must be advised to chew
that which he is capable of swallowing.”
But Musengezi dismissed attempts by Zanu PF to disown him,
saying he has locus standi to sue the ruling party, Mnangagwa and other senior
party officials.
In his court application, he said he had been a member of
the ruling party for over 20 years, adding that he was a youth league member
under Mugabe’s leadership in Harare province, and held party card number
1515786.
He said he renewed his Zanu PF party membership following
the 2017 power transition at Mai Chitepo branch in Muzinda 1 party district in
Harare province under card number 0131988.
Musengezi also participated in the Zanu PF primary
elections for Harare North constituency ahead of the 2018 elections and lost to
the MDC Alliance’s Allan Markham in the elections.
“Who is Mugwadi to discredit my membership when he doesn’t
even have five years in the party?
Although I lost, I was a Zanu PF primary election candidate for Harare
North constituency ahead of the 2018 general elections.”
He told South African broadcaster SABC on Saturday that he
was not fighting for the removal of Mnangagwa, but he wanted the party to
follow the dictates of its constitution on appointment of its leaders.
He said he received overwhelming support from some Zanu PF
members close to Mnangagwa for filing the application.
Legal expert Alex Magaisa said Musengezi’s application
exposed an internal power struggle in Zanu PF which clearly showed that he had
backing from an authority within the party.
“We were not far off at the BSR (Big Saturday Read) when we
suggested there are several signs of trouble in the house (of) Mnangagwa. Musengezi is a smart, articulate and
well-prepared chap. He has done his homework. But he is not a lone wolf. He is
a well-trained proverbial tortoise, but not even the smartest tortoise can
climb to the top of the fence post on its own.
“Someone helps it to get up there. An application like this
would have taken several meetings of well-organised people to plan and execute.
Other tortoises usually lend their name to an application and remain in the
background. They have no voice, even when they are challenging individuals
without State power. It’s more than bravery for Musengezi to take up such a
public platform as the SABC,” Magaisa said. Newsday
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