Reprieve for Kasukuwere
ZANU-PF national political commissar Cde Saviour Kasukuwere got a reprieve yesterday after a scheduled meeting at which Mashonaland Central Province had vowed to kick him out of the party was deferred to Wednesday.
President Mugabe deployed a high-level Zanu-PF delegation to Mashonaland Central to resolve differences within the party leadership in the province.
The delegation — led by the revolutionary party’s secretary for Administration Dr Ignatius Chombo — was supposed to meet the Provincial Co-ordinating Committee yesterday.
The meeting was however, postponed after some Politburo members, who were supposed to attend, could not travel owing to commitments elsewhere.
Minister of State for Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs Advocate Martin Dinha said the province wanted the matter resolved expeditiously.
“We received advice from the secretary for Administration (Cde Chombo) that we will reconvene on Wednesday. Some of the Politburo members who were supposed to attend were committed elsewhere. As the head of the province, I want the Kasukuwere-Mafios issue to be dealt with expeditiously,” he said.
“As a country we are seized with other critical matters such as Command Agriculture and the Presidential Input Scheme which gave us a bumper harvest. We cannot continue to be held back by the Tyson-Mafios saga,” he said in reference to Cde Kasukuwere and his half-brother, Mashonaland Central acting provincial chair, Dickson Mafios.
Adv Dinha said if he were Cde Kasukuwere he would ask to be redeployed out of the country, consider full-time farming or any such career.
“My brother-in-law Tyson (Cde Kasukuwere) must take my advice kindly. I am aware he is taking the matter personally, peddling lies and making false allegations but I advise him to pack his bags as political commissar and minister,” he said.
“We must start rebuilding the party. We have elections next year. The G40 (a group in which Cde Kasukuwere is said to belong) cabal has created parallel structures and dismembered the party and caused a lot of animosity between party leaders, war veterans and the youths in a bid to capture members in anticipation of taking over. I know Tyson is
taking the matter personally because I refused to join the cabal.”
He said G40 had approached him and offered him the post of Minister of Justice should he support its agenda.
Adv Dinha said he refused because he was content with his current status.
“I know there is only one appointing authority, who is President Mugabe, not Tyson. Clearly I’m not a factionalist or secessionist like him. Kasukuwere survives on deceiving the President and the First Lady. He has abrogated himself the title of a guardian angel of the President yet we are aware that he covets the post of President,” he said.
Mashonaland Central secretary for information and publicity Cde Frederick Nhaka said the province was ready for the meeting.
“The people have already spoken through petitions. We are actually sur- prised they are calling for a meeting. We are surprised Cde Chombo is conveying messages to people who were given prohibition orders,” said Cde Nhaka.
“We had come in full force because allegations levelled against the two brothers have solid evidence. We had rejected the meeting because we have already decided the fate of the two. If they want the party to forge ahead they should just resign.”
The meeting comes amid simmering tensions among PCC members following no-confidence votes passed against Cdes Kasukuwere and Mafios.
The letter copied to several senior officials in the province by Cde Chombo reads in part; “In response to petitions and representations in your province, the party leadership requests you to call for the con- vening of the Mashonaland Central Provincial Coordinating Committee meeting on Sunday 23 April 2017, at 1000 hours. A team of senior party members has been assigned to address the meeting.”
Cde Kasukuwere is accused of trying to unseat President Mugabe by creating parallel structures to support his machinations at an extraordinary Zanu-PF congress.
He is said to be working with Cde Mafios, and petitions recommending the brothers’ expulsion have been transmitted to the party’s headquarters.
All 10 Zanu-PF administrative provinces have passed no-confidence votes on Cde Kasukuwere, and President Mugabe has advised that all grievances be dealt with formally through party structures instead of public demonstrations.