I’m not going anywhere: President
. . . salutes grand homecoming Prof Moyo clean: First Lady
PRESIDENT Mugabe says the state of his health surprises even his doctors, pointing out that he is still fit to lead both Zanu-PF and Government as the country prepares for next year’s harmonised elections.
President Mugabe was addressing tens of thousands of people at Chinhoyi University of Technology at the fifth Presidential Youth Interface yesterday.
“There is an issue to say the President is going, I am not going; the President is dying, I am not dying, and I thank God for having lived to this day. I thank God also for giving me good life. I will have an ailment here and there. I go to the doctors like everyone else; but body-wise, ma- organs angu ese — my heart, my liver, mukati umu — very firm, very strong.
“Vakashama vanachiremba kuti you have gone so strong, your bones, your system. Ndikati ndiMwari. But, of course, muscles and bones also must be assisted to be strong. For years, ndakangova munhu akangoramba achiita exercise the body, from prison to this day. So, certainly the bones are bound to be strong. Tinonamata kuti Mwari arambe achitipa hupenyu.”
On unity in the ruling Zanu-PF, President Mugabe said he was aware that some people wanted his position, and also castigated those bringing tribal thinking to national politics.
“Vamwe vari divided tribally, vamwe vanoshorana. Rwendo runo hatidi vechiZezuru, takuda kuti tichipinda isu. Once you begin to talk like that, you are not going to be a uniting person at all. I don’t have that kind of talk. I am happy; when I am in Matabeleland or in the Midlands or in Manicaland; hapana vandinoti ava havasi vangu.”
He added: “Vakuru vatinavo muPolitburo, muGovernment should recognise that the principle that made us succeed was one of unity. Yes, there is the aspect of discipline and self-sacrifice; but underlying those ones is unity. Unity means we are together in mind, we are together in the way we operate in our positions. We are together in mind also means we should speak the same language. We should avoid speaking against each other, kunyeyana, kuorganizirana.” FIRST Lady Amai Grace Mugabe has said fraud allegations raised by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission against Zanu-PF Politburo member Professor Jonathan Moyo are “lies”, adding that only President Mugabe has the prerogative of removing him from his post.
Addressing tens of thousands of people at the fifth Presidential Youth Interface in Chinhoyi yesterday, Amai Mugabe also came to the defence of under fire Zanu-PF National Political Commissar Cde Saviour Kasukuwere; while telling Presidential spokesperson Mr George Charamba that he was junior to ministers.
Amai Mugabe said she had no quarrels with Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, saying she had even thwarted an attempt by an unnamed individual to try and oust him from office. She reiterated her position from earlier in the week that President Mugabe should lead the process of choosing his successor when the time came that the Head of State and Government felt he no longer wanted to carry on with leading the ruling party and the nation.
The First Lady said, “Zvaitwa zvaMahoka naSandi ndakazowona vanhu vasimuka vachifunga kuti President zvavabvumira kubviswa kwanaSandi naMahoka yavanguva yeku victimiser Kasukuwere. Vanhu vagomobiliser, vagoenda kumaProvinces. Hatichade Kasukuwere; varikuda kubvisa President nemunin’ina wake. Vari three? Please, ngatitauriranei chokwadi. Inguva yekutaurirana chokwadi. Zvingaite izvozvo? Iko kamukomana ikaka . . . Muri vaviri imi mogo- displacer mudhara uyu, ane mhomho yese iyi?”
She said only President Mugabe could decide to fire Cde Kasukuwere from the Politburo and Government. In apparent reference to Prof Moyo — the Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister accused of siphoning nearly US$500 000 from the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund, Amai Mugabe said: “Ku- creator ma corruption cases against them, nhema dzega dzega. Nhema. It’s too much.
“We have been quiet for a long time. This must be stopped. Aiwa ka, varume ka, kana musingiwirirane, garai pasi mutaurirane, muite iron out ma- problems enyu musati mabuda panze. Makabuda nemaproblems panze saka tokudzidzisai panze vanhu vachinzwa.”
The First Lady said she had told off a party cadre who wanted to use her to oust VP Mnangagwa.
“Pane imwe nguva yandikambofonerwa nevamwe vanhu gore rakapera zvikanzi handei mu- street tonobvisa VaMnangagwa, VaMnangagwa ndikavaudza ava, ndikunyepa? But inini ndika- confronter vanhu ivavo kuti munoda kuti tibvise vaMnangagwa, tisu here takambova appointa pachinzvimbo ichochi? Tikaenda mu- street tikaita ruzha, it means we are insulting the President because he is the appointing authority. Ndikaramba. VaMnangagwa vakaappointwa naPresident to be Vice-President. Saka inini ndikaita mudzimai wavo (President) I have no mandate ndoungana nevanhu ndoenda mu- street kunovabvisa, hazviite.”
Turning to Mr Charamba, she said, “You are a prolific writer, you are an avid reader, I respect you for that, in your intellectual
from one of the nearby houses came out.
“I was losing blood and could feel I was losing consciousness. I remember him talking on the phone saying that I was lying on the ground but was alive. After a while Oricious then returned with the police, who also started asking me questions. He told them that I had tried to rob him, but I am shocked at those allegations. An ambulance then came and ferried me to hospital, where I woke up to find myself in hospital in the ICU under police guard,” said Moyo.
Moyo’s family, speaking through their spokesperson Mr Roderick Pedzisai Moyo, said they had been aware that his wife was seeing another man, as she had been spotted on countless times at different spots.
“There was a time she was spotted with Oricious at a city braai spot and she panicked and left in a huff. We have tried to reach out to her as a family to find out what’s going on but she has been shutting us out. We asked her where she was when her husband was shot and she said she was home. What is funny is that she claims to have been home the whole day yet she was at work and people saw her there,” said Roderick.
He said concerning the request by her husband that she does not visit him in hospital was entirely on his own cognisance.
“She came to the hospital and was acting dramatic demanding that some people not visit him. That is when she told hospital staff and some other relatives that he didn’t want her anywhere near him. She is the writer of her own fate and should not blame anyone for her short comings,” said Roderick.
Contacted for comment Mrs Chesigelenaso (Banda) Moyo accused the media of trying to ruin her life and marriage.
“How could you make me wait outside the hospital, had I known it was you people in there I would have made a scene. You have no right to talk to my husband. You left him in a critical condition, I don’t know what you were telling him there but whatever happens is all on you,” she fumed.
Asked about her whereabouts on the night in question, she declined to comment. In a story published by our sister paper, Chronicle, Moyo was
The First Lady said she held no grudges and was only playing her motherly role in her criticisms. On the succession issue, she said there was no way anyone was going to take over from President Mugabe without the incumbent playing a key role in that process. accused of trying to rob Oricious with the aid of two accomplices. His lawyer, Mr Zibusiso Ncube of Ncube and Partners in a report confirmed that his client shot Moyo, after he had attempted to rob him.
“Yes, I can confirm that my client was attacked by three robbers who pounced on him demanding cash. In defence, he shot one of them. As they attacked him, he managed to lock the door to his car but the two who later escaped continued to bang the door, ordering him to open it. One of the three men jumped onto the passenger seat which my client had failed to lock and demanded cash. He tried to drive off but because of the continued scuffle, he drew a gun and shot the robber who was in the car,” said Mr Ncube.
The lawyer said he could not comment on allegations that the shooting could have been triggered by a matter concerning adultery allegations against one of the men involved in the incident.
“Concerning the other side of the story on adultery, I am not aware of that part, maybe it has since emerged as investigations proceed. I cannot refute nor confirm that,” said Mr Ncube.
He said he was not sure if the alleged robbers had been armed or not.
“I would not want to say much as the issue is still under investigation and we may jeopardise investigations,” said Mr Ncube. Bulawayo police said investigations were underway. “I can confirm that a man was shot in an attempt to allegedly rob a motorist. He was shot once in the ribs and is admitted in hospital where he is receiving treatment under police guard,” said Bulawayo police spokesperson Inspector Precious Simango last week.