Chaos, tension at Kasukuwere inquest

A deadly cocktail of tension and chaos reigned at yesterday's Zanu-PF Mashonaland Central provincial meeting, as rival factions jockeyed for the attention of a high-level team that was dispatched here to look into grievances against the party's embattled national political commissar, Saviour Kasukuwere.

The definitive outcome of the marathon meeting, which took the whole day despite being expected to last only two hours, was not known at the time of going to print last night.

The private media, including the Daily News, was denied entry into the venue of the meeting, at the end of the deliberations.

The meeting followed the submission of a recent petition calling for the removal of Kasukuwere from his party position by his home province, which led to nine other provinces passing votes of no confidence in him.

This, in turn, followed a raft of allegations levelled against Kasukuwere - including untested claims that he wanted to topple President Robert Mugabe from power.

Heavily armed police were in full force at the gathering, anticipating trouble. They also subjected people to rigorous security screening.

Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda - who led the delegation to hear the allegations against Kasukuwere - asked searching questions about the charges levelled at the Local Government minister.

"Your committee noted that after the petition was drawn by members and supporters of Zanu-PF ... we looked for the signatures of the petitioners but could not locate them. I would want you to furnish us with those after this meeting.

"Your committee would like to know which structures are running parallel to the real Zanu-PF structures and were created by Kasukuwere to topple the legitimately elected president," Mudenda, who is a lawyer, said.

Mashonaland Central war veterans' provincial chairperson, Sam Parirenyatwa, told Mudenda that it was unfair for him to ask the province these questions, as it was party supporters who had petitioned Mugabe.

However, Mudenda argued that since the province had accepted the petition it understood its contents.

It was not clear what later transpired in the lengthy deliberations.

At the end of the meeting, Zanu-PF officials only allowed State media to go back into the venue for interviews.

Kasukuwere is sweating over his future in the warring former liberation movement, after the party's 10 provinces passed votes of no confidence in him over a slew of untested allegations which include creating parallel structures and planning to topple Mugabe.

At the same time, it has also emerged that Matabeleland North province has also put in motion plans to haul over the coals party politburo member and Higher Education minister, Jonathan Moyo, who - together with Kasukuwere - are two of the alleged kingpins of the Generation 40 (G40) faction.

Apart from Moyo and Kasukuwere, Manicaland province on Friday passed a vote of no confidence in its chairperson Samuel Undenge, while plans are also apparently afoot to depose his wife, Letina, as the provincial chairperson of the women's league.

Insiders claim that the couple is part of the G40 faction.

Apart from the couple, Harare Provincial political commissar, Shadreck Mashayamombe, has also come under increasing pressure to leave his post.

He was given a stay of execution at the weekend when the province suspended a prohibition order barring him from conducting party business that he had been slapped with by disgruntled party members.