President Robert Mugabe seemed to have all but endorsed Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa as his successor, after declaring the latter was the most senior party member in the Midlands province and the Zanu PF party which had never turned against him.
by Everson Mushava
Mugabe was addressing hundreds of party supporters who had gathered to cheer him up while he received a house, Gushungo House, built in his honour in Gweru’s Woodlands Park suburb by businesswoman, Smelly Dube.
The 91-year-old leader said Mnangagwa had remained steadfast in his loyalty to him and the party.
He said this while firing a salvo at former Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo “for trying to impose himself as a political godfather” in the Midlands province and allegedly conniving with former Vice-President Joice Mujuru to oust him.
“We have enemies in our midst who want to take over power unconstitutionally. That was what Mai Mujuru paid for,” Mugabe said.
“Even Madyira (Rugare Gumbo), worked as Mujuru’s side kick. I don’t know what had gotten into him. He said he wanted to take over power and wanted to control Mberengwa, ahead of very senior members like VP Mnangagwa, who has never betrayed the party and its leadership, but we said no, you are a traitor.”
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Mugabe’s utterances regarding Mnangagwa were notwithstanding the 2004 Tsholotsho Declaration that claimed scalps of many provincial chairpersons, including then Information minister Jonathan Moyo.
Mnangagwa was temporarily relegated to a mere Rural Housing and Social Amenities ministerial post, before bouncing back as Defence minister in 2009 and eventually handpicked by Mugabe as his deputy last year, following changes to the Zanu PF constitution that gave Mugabe powers to handpick his deputies.
Mugabe’s praise of Mnangagwa came a day after his wife, First Lady Grace, addressed a rally in Mberengwa and declared that she had no presidential ambitions to take over power and that she had a good working relationship with Mnangagwa.
Grace had been linked to Zanu PF faction, G40, allegedly fronted by Local Government minister Saviour Kasukuwere, Moyo and Mugabe’s nephew, Patrick Zhuwao, which is reportedly battling the Mnangagwa faction in the Zanu PF succession wars.
But Mugabe drew wild cheers when he imitated Mnangagwa’s popular slogan, “Pasi Nemhandu-u-u-u-u-u-u-u-u (Down with the enemy).”
Mugabe called for unity in his party and urged the party to reclaim the ground lost to Morgan Tsvangirai’s MDC-T in previous elections, since the formation of the labour-backed opposition in 1999.
He thanked Dube for the house donation and called for all Zimbabweans to emulate her in working hard and stop looking up to the government for everything.
“This is a day we are grateful of. We have been given this nice home by Mrs Dube, so that we may decide to sleep here. We were given the house some four years ago, but we are here for the official handover. The house was also built by the effort of Cde Msipa (Cephas, former Midlands governor),” Mugabe said.
Dube said the Gushungo House belonged to Robert Junior, while the gallery belonged to Bona and the playground to Chatunga. Dube also donated school uniforms to several schools in Gweru.
The handover ceremony, which took place after Mugabe capped over 2 000 Midlands State University graduates, was attended by Mnangagwa, Hurungwe East MP Sarah Mahoka, Information minister Christopher Mushowe, Midlands Provincial Affairs minister Jason Machaya and deputy ministers Abigail Damasane and Anastancia Ndlovu.
Former State minister in Mujuru’s office, Flora Buka also made a surprise appearance at the event.
