News / National
Biti 'spies' infiltrate Joice Mujuru party - report
25 Mar 2017 at 03:48hrs | Views
Top officials from Tendai Biti's People Democratic Party (PDP) party have been accused of infiltrating Joice Mujuru's National People's Party (NPP) with the aim of splitting it, reports show.
According to reports Saturday, the plot includes assuming provincial and national positions at the NPP's elections to establish a substantive national leadership slated for today, and then months later defect en masse to the PDP.
The alleged defections would make Mujuru to be viewed as weak and, therefore, unsuitable for very senior positions on the opposition coalition, NewsDay reported.
NPP members from Masvingo said the plot was being implemented by officials who have joined the party from the PDP.
The report said former PDP members jostling for positions in the NPP were still working with their former party and had two meetings this year to strategise the infiltration and cause a split.
"The plot has come to be dubbed as the Third Force and was aimed at discrediting Mujuru, while at the same time propelling Biti so that his stakes at the coalition negotiating table would rise" the publication said.
Although most opposition leaders have endorsed MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai as the best candidate to lead the mooted coalition against President Robert Mugabe's Zanu PF in the forthcoming 2018 general elections, the PDP outfit allegedly wanted to torpedo the former labour unionist.
"The PDP members still believed Biti is the best candidate to lead the coalition on account of Tsvangirai's ill-health, but without numbers, they still face a mountain task against Mujuru.
"The plot is thus to have mass defections from Mujuru's camp to prop up Biti's profile and take over leadership of the coalition ahead of the Mujuru," one member told NewsDay Weekender on condition of anonymity.
"When we started the NPP as Zimbabwe People First, we agreed to accept anyone from anywhere and treat each other as equal partners.
"We ha
d people from PDP. They joined the party and after a meeting with Biti on January 13 in Masvingo, they reinforced the recruitment drive in other provinces.
"Now they are a structure within a structure. They now want to dominate the provincial and national leadership positions and resign en mass after six weeks to dent president Mujuru's image. The problem is more pronounced in Masvingo where they are working with a senior NPP official who is the both in the provincial and interim structures," he said.
NPP spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire said: "Normally, when you get allegations of such gravity, it is prudent to study them first and comment later."
PDP spokesperson Jacob Mafume said his party has no intention to undermine Mujuru or any other opposition party.
According to reports Saturday, the plot includes assuming provincial and national positions at the NPP's elections to establish a substantive national leadership slated for today, and then months later defect en masse to the PDP.
The alleged defections would make Mujuru to be viewed as weak and, therefore, unsuitable for very senior positions on the opposition coalition, NewsDay reported.
NPP members from Masvingo said the plot was being implemented by officials who have joined the party from the PDP.
The report said former PDP members jostling for positions in the NPP were still working with their former party and had two meetings this year to strategise the infiltration and cause a split.
"The plot has come to be dubbed as the Third Force and was aimed at discrediting Mujuru, while at the same time propelling Biti so that his stakes at the coalition negotiating table would rise" the publication said.
"The PDP members still believed Biti is the best candidate to lead the coalition on account of Tsvangirai's ill-health, but without numbers, they still face a mountain task against Mujuru.
"The plot is thus to have mass defections from Mujuru's camp to prop up Biti's profile and take over leadership of the coalition ahead of the Mujuru," one member told NewsDay Weekender on condition of anonymity.
"When we started the NPP as Zimbabwe People First, we agreed to accept anyone from anywhere and treat each other as equal partners.
"We ha
d people from PDP. They joined the party and after a meeting with Biti on January 13 in Masvingo, they reinforced the recruitment drive in other provinces.
"Now they are a structure within a structure. They now want to dominate the provincial and national leadership positions and resign en mass after six weeks to dent president Mujuru's image. The problem is more pronounced in Masvingo where they are working with a senior NPP official who is the both in the provincial and interim structures," he said.
NPP spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire said: "Normally, when you get allegations of such gravity, it is prudent to study them first and comment later."
PDP spokesperson Jacob Mafume said his party has no intention to undermine Mujuru or any other opposition party.
Source - NewsDay
