War veteran and former diplomat, Agrippa Mutambara, was yesterday named the new leader of the Zimbabwe People First (ZPF) — amid chaotic scenes which threatened to derail the meeting which had been called to announce the party’s new leadership.
Mutambara,who was a member of Zimbabwe People First led by Joice Mujuru raped Judith Todd , according to David Coltart’s book ,The Struggle Continues: 50 Years of Tyranny in Zimbabwe.
Judith “Judie” Todd, the daughter of Sir Garfield Todd was a political activist from the early 1960s opposing the minority government of Ian Smith, the same Judie who was responsible for protesting and conducting mass demonstrations in in the UK against the Smith government and was arrested and detained without trial, to solitary confinement in 1972 with her father Sir Garfield Todd.
At the stormy meeting held in Harare, ZPF founding fathers, Didymus Mutasa and Rugare Gumbo, were also relegated to peripheral roles — with Mutambara taking charge of the fledgling party in an acting capacity.
Fearless former war veterans’ leader, Jabulani Sibanda, came out of his long political hibernation to be elected the party’s commissar.
But the gathering was marred by ugly scenes which rocked the troubled outfit, with angry supporters besieging its headquarters and causing the cancellation of a press conference that had been scheduled to announce the party’s new leadership.
The supporters were protesting the party’s failure to appoint a substantive president.
ZPF acting spokesperson, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, was forced to chase away the journalists who had turned up for the scheduled media briefing — although he did apologise for the chaotic scenes.
“I want to apologise to you. We are going to call you later. For now we are still having our meeting,” Bhasikiti told reporters.
But the irate supporters accused Bhasikiti of trying to mask the party’s problems and challenged him on why he was turning away journalists when he was the one who had invited them for the briefing.
“Why did he invite journalists to come here in the first place? … We want to elect the president. Takazviramba kwaMai (former vice president Joice) Mujuru tichiti vaakuita zvechi-thug. Ndizvo zvavava kuita (They are behaving in the same thuggish and unacceptable manner which happened under Mujuru’s leadership).
“Bhasikiti is trying to impose a leader on us and we don’t want that. We need to go to a congress and elect a leader of our choice,” said one angry supporter who declined to be named.
Bhasikiti later phoned journalists to announce the party’s new interim leadership.
“We have agreed that Mutambara becomes the interim president and he will manage the affairs of the party in association with the steering committee.
“We have also resolved that Gumbo and Mutasa remain advisors, but with no dealings in the day-to-day affairs of the party, while Jabulani Sibanda will be in charge of the commissariat department. Munacho Mutezo will be secretary for finance,” he said.
Until yesterday, ZPF did not have a leader following the highly-publicised fallout between Mujuru on one hand, and Gumbo and Mutasa on the other, which led to a nasty split in February.
In that stunning development, Mujuru later announced that he had fired Gumbo, Mutasa and five other high-ranking officials over a slew of allegations which included claims that the stalwarts were Zanu PF spies.
“Having done extensive consultation within the rank and file of the party and also in my capacity as the president with the executive authority to ensure its wellbeing, I hereby announce the expulsion of the following members from Zimbabwe People First with immediate effect: Rugare Gumbo, Didymus Mutasa, Margaret Dongo, Kudakwashe Bhasikiti, Luckson Kandemiri, Munacho Mutezo and Claudious Makova.
“We assure Zimbabweans that more heads are going to roll in this revolutionary exercise. We remain committed to the democratisation of Zimbabwe. We remain committed to a coalition of progressive forces to fight and remove Zanu PF from office,” she said.
But before the dust had settled down on the staggering development, Gumbo and Mutasa held their own press conference later in the day where they also announced Mujuru’s summary expulsion from the party.
Mujuru eventually left the party to launch her own outfit, the National People’s Party (NPP), which last week signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai ahead of the make-or-break 2018 elections.
THE FINDINGS:
When Judith Todd found out about the Gukurahundi massacres that were happening in Matebeleland at that time, it was from the, then Catholic Bishop of Matebeleland, Bishop Karlen. He also let her father “Sir Garfield Todd” know and it was agreed that he would send copies of evidence and reports to Judith who would secure them for him until he (Sir Garfield Todd) returns from his meeting in Harare.
“People were being terrorised, starved and butchered and their property destroyed…
I rang my father to report the arrival of the documents and he gave me permission to look at them, which I immediately did. Then I wished I hadn’t. The events chronicled were far, far worse than I could have ever imagined. It seemed that the 5th brigade had gone berserk, in an orgy of violence against defenceless citizens. I felt so horrified, sick and faint that I longed to go straight home to bed but I had an important meeting.”
MEETING REX NHONGO:
Judith accidentally bumped into Justin Nyoka who was with Brigadier Aggriper Mutambara and then Zimbabwe Army Commander Lieutenant General, Rex Nhongo (Solomon Mujuru).
“I shook hands with them, sat down and we exchanged courtesies. Justin bought me a bitterly cold Castle lager. Bishop Karlen’s documents started burning in my handbag. I knew I would never have an opportunity like this again, and steeled myself to speak to Nhongo.
Perhaps Bishop Karlen thought Mugabe didn’t know about the atrocities.
Perhaps I thought that Nhongo didn’t know either. I said how wonderful it was, that we were having this meeting,as I had information about activities in Matabeleland that he might be unaware of.
I persevered and said it appeared as if the armed forces were out of control; that atrocities were being committed and that mass graves were being filled with the corpses of helpless citizens. Then I fell silent with terror. I had been noticing huge trickles of sweat pouring down Justin’s temples. He was moping his face and saying “Judy keep quiet! Judy, Keep quiet quiet” But Brigadier Mutambara intervened and say
‘No let her speak. She may know things we don’t. Let us hear what she has to say.’
Nhongo was stuttering, whether in horror or anger I couldn’t tell. I learned later that the stutter was a normal part of his speech. People passing our table kept trying to greet him and he waved them all away. He asked for specific localities. I said I would find out for him. He said he was to Matabeleland by helicopter the next day, and would send a car for me so that I could go with him and show him the mass graves….
I gave Nhongo my telephone number… Early the next morning, I telephoned Bishop Karlen and told him of my meeting with the army commander. I asked permission to copy all his documents for Nhongo. He was quiet and obviously troubled, but eventually says yes, as others, including my father, of course , had, or where about to, receive copies.
At about 9:30 I received a call from our reception area a floor below my office, to say that someone from the army was waiting for me in a car down-stairs. I scribbled a note to sister Janice McLaughlin, saying
‘The Army commander, Lt Gen Nhongo has sent a car for me.’
I put it in a sealed envelope and gave it to Morris Mtsambiwa in an adjacent office. I said calmly without further explanation, that I was going out, and he must deliver the note if I wasn’t back before our offices closed that afternoon.
REX NHONGO SENDS THE CAR:
*This is a bit sad for me to share but one must clear himself from emotions*
” On the street I found a very smart looking Brigadier Aggriper Mutambara in khakhi uniform waiting for me. He opened the passenger door at the front of the olive green army car, I climbed in and we drove away-to where or what my mind refused to consider. I greeted the brigadier and started talking, trying to act as if everything was normal. He stopped at a bottle store, went in and bought a couple bottles of beer and orange juice and then proceeded to a house, which I think, was at the Chikurubi complex. A servant let us in, not looking at us. The brigadier led me into a bedroom, opened a bottle of beer for each of us, unstrapped his firearm in its holster, laid it on the bedside table next to my head and proceeded. I did not resist. Before long the subjugation was over, he dropped me back at our offices and I tried to continue on my road precisely as if nothing had happened.”
This excerpt is taken from Judith Todd’s book – A life in Zimbabwe
The only person that Judith spoke to about this experience was retired American psychiatrist and dear friend who taught psychiatry at the University of Zimbabwe’s medical school and no one else. She then became a target for ZANU and her father, Sir Garfield Todd had to arrange a meeting with Mugabe and plead with Mugabe to guarantee that she will be spared.
Since then, she has been more comfortable to discuss the issue with the release of her book that was released in 2009.
Judith Todd deserves Heroine status, not only for saving thousands of lives during and after the struggle but also the hard work her and her father did in helping ordinary Zimbabweans and refusing to be moved by the threats by ZANU. We have a tendency of honouring people when they have passed on. Well let us honour and cherish this heroine while she is alive.
2 Comments