Kasukuwere not off the hook as Mash Central bays for blood
ZANU-PF National Political Commissar Cde Saviour Kasukuwere is not off the hook and reports in the private media suggesting that he is now a free man are false as senior members from Mashonaland Central province are baying for his blood.
Although President Mugabe is the final arbiter in the Kasukuwere case guided by a report expected this week from his probe team dispatched to Mashonaland Central last week, senior members from the province said Cde Kasukuwere had presided over the destruction of the revolutionary party and was no longer fit to continue as the national commissar.
The senior members, who are also legislators from the province, yesterday denied reports in the private media suggesting that they were distancing themselves from the petition submitted to President Mugabe outlining charges against Cde Kasukuwere.
Shamva South MP Cde Joseph Mapiki was the first to pour cold water on reports suggesting that Cde Kasukuwere was now off the hook.
He said Cde Kasukuwere’s continued stay as national commissar was not good for Zanu-PF.
“His continued existence as the national party commissar is likely to bring ripple effects to the party as we prepare for next year’s election. He has divided the party, imposing his own men and women in all the party structures disregarding the wishes of the people.”
“He has appointed shadow MPs not in Mashonaland Central alone but in most provinces. Check in Mashonaland West, you will be shocked.”
Cde Mapiki said Zanu-PF should not treat Cde Kasukuwere’s case with kid gloves as it had the potential of destroying the revolutionary party.
“The truth is the party should not treat him as if he is indispensable. That is not good for the party. Kasukuwere’s actions are weakening the party in Mashonaland Central,” said Cde Mapiki.
ZANU-PF Mashonaland Central deputy chairman Cde Kazembe Kazembe weighed in saying the whole country had rejected Cde Kasukuwere.
He said he does not belong to any of the so-called factions in Zanu-PF but stood by what the people had said.
“Let me be very clear. I normally do not want to comment but the truth of the matter is people said what they wanted to say. The whole country has spoken,” he said.
“It is not a personal Kazembe issue. It is about the national political commissar and those who were accused. The whole country has spoken. I am a principled person and I do not belong to any faction and neither am I paid to do what I have done and neither am I influenced.
“It is unfortunate that I was not given an opportunity to present a report. If I had been given an opportunity by Advocate Jacob Mudenda I could have given a report of what exactly transpired.
“Whatever I said and whatever I did was above board. Whatever I presented is exactly what came from the people. I think we should stop commenting on this issue until the Politburo sits. The President said he has eyes that see and ears that hear so we can talk and talk but the bottom line is that the centre of power is well informed.”
Bindura North legislator Cde
Kenneth Musanhi said he stood by the petition that was presented by the province to the President. “It is a lie that we disowned the petition,” said Cde Musanhi. “I presented to the committee that I was removed from the provincial structures as second committee member by Cde Kasukuwere. I am the only committee member that was removed in the whole province. We stand by the petition.” A source from Mashonaland Central said Cde Kasukuwere has no capacity to unite people given his “arrogance” and “hunger for power”. “Right now he is busy demobilising people, sowing seeds of division,” said the source adding, “How can people get united by a person who has since been rejected by all the provinces.” The source attacked Cde Kasukuwere for removing elected people from party positions replacing them with those loyal to him. “A political commissar is a person who should mobilise people for the party. Winning elections is about votes,” she said. “You do not win elections alone, you need other people’s support.” Another official from the troubled province who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals said Cde Kasukuwere “is a dead man walking as the entire Zanu-PF membership serve for a few G40 elements and co-opted chairpersons are supporting him”. “He hired hooligans and placard holders and paid off a fortune to wade off opposition to him,” said the official.
“Kasukuwere’s unpopularity in Mashonaland Central is also linked to his blind support for Dickson Mafios, a halfbrother, who he imposed and propelled to the chairman’s post despite the entire province having voted against him.”
He added: “His bullish character and emotional outbursts such as where he picked a fight with a young journalist and his often lack of tactics and statesmanship has made him an unsuitable character for NPC.”
Mashonaland Central was the first to call out Cde Kasukuwere for trying to engineer President Mugabe’s ouster via parallel structures primed for an Extraordinary Congress of the party.
It is believed he was working with his halfbrother, Cde Mafios, who is the province’s acting chairperson and one of the alleged shadow MPs.
Other provincial executives then turned up the heat, signing petitions calling for the removal of the national commissar.
This saw Zanu-PF’s First Secretary and President, Cde Mugabe, assigning the case to a high-level probe team led by Adv Mudenda.
Adv Mudenda chaired last week’s no-holdsbarred meeting which received blow-byblow accounts of how Cde Kasukuwere methodically “captured” parliamentary constituencies in Mashonaland Central and excluded bona fide MPs from major party decision-making processes.