By Clayton Masekesa | The Zimbabwean |
First Lady Grace Mugabe has been sucked into a fierce political turf war that threatens to end Environment, Water and Climate minister Oppah Muchinguri’s career and her stranglehold of Zanu PF politics in Manicaland Province.
Grace’s name featured prominently this week in passing of vote of no confidences by the rival ruling party youths fighting for control of the provincial Youth League structures.
A group opposed to Muchinguri that is allegedly aligned to Grace’s faction early this week suspended youth league provincial leader Kelvin Manyengawana, political commissar Washington Ziwiwi and executive member responsible for Finance Gertrude Mutandi for allegedly holding a secret meeting with Muchinguri.
However Muchinguri’s allies later hit back and passed a vote of no confidence on Mabuso Chinguno (provincial vice chairman), Victor Saunyama (secretary for administration), Kudzai Madhara and Tawanda Tswatswa for causing unwarranted divisions within the youth executive, defying Mugabe’s call during the just ended party’s conference held in Victoria Falls.
In an interview with The Zimbabwean the provincial youth secretary for information and publicity Gibson Mupeti said they do not recognize the expulsion of the three (Manyengavana, Ziwiwi and Mutandi) and the party leadership must establish a disciplinary action against Chinguno, Saunyama, Madhara and Tswatswa.
Mupeti claimed that the four had caused “gross misconduct and disloyalty to the party”.
He said: “They have caused divisions and undermined the authority of the First Lady and secretary for Women’s Affairs by lying that they have been instructed by the First Lady to remove part of our executive members (Manyengavana, Ziwiwi and Mutandi.”
Mupeti added: “As youth, we want the party to be run smoothly. We have seen that these people (Chinguno, Saunyama, Madhara and Tswatswa) had their own agendas, they have been using the First Lady’s name to satisfy their personal agendas, which is very wrong.”
Said Mupeti: “His Excellency, the President and First Secretary of Zanu PF Cde R.G Mugabe at a national conference called for unity and clearly instructed for a stop to these vote of no confidence meetings, but, the four have been calling members of our executive to sign a document calling for vote of no confidence to our provincial executive members.”
The four are also accused of undermining the authority of the First Lady and secretary for Women’s Affairs, Grace Mugabe by lying that they had been instructed by the First Lady to remove some members of the executive members.
“As the youth executive we want to give also give a stern warning to individuals for continuously disrespecting the party’s constitution and defying President Robert Mugabe’s call to end factionalism,” he said.
Mupeti added the purported vote of no confidence against Manyengavana, Ziwiwi and Mutandi was in violation of the party’s constitution.
Mupeti said the vote of no confidence is in violation of the party’s constitution chapter 4 section 266 which reads: “A motion of vote of no confidence must specify and detail the reasons thereof which reasons shall fall into categories namely incompetence/dereliction of duty, gross misconduct and disloyalty.”
Repeated efforts to get a comment from Zanu PF National Youth Chairman Pupurai Togarepi proved fruitless at the time of going to Press.
But, Kudzai Chipanga the Zanu PF Deputy Secretary for Youth Affairs in the Politburo said they had not endorsed the expulsion of Manyengavana, Ziwiwi and Mutandi, saying they did not recognize the vote of no confidence passed by Chinguno and his team.
The expulsion of Manyengavana, Ziwiwi and Mutandi who are viewed as allies of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa and also close to Muchinguri who is seen as the godmother of Manicaland by virtue of her seniority in the province.
Party members alleged to be aligned to Mnangagwa are being booted out of Zanu PF one after another as punishment as the battle to succeed President Robert Mugabe hots up.
