Mugabe party hit by divisions

Insiders say the new National Patriotic Front (NPF) - which has the blessings of ousted former president Robert Mugabe - could suffer a stillbirth, amid damaging internal accusations that the fledgling party's leader Rtd brigadier Ambrose Mutunhiri is incompetent.

Well-placed sources yesterday said there were already serious ructions within the political outfit, with Mugabe's wife Grace and a few of the former Zanu-PF bigwigs who are linked to the new party apparently now saying Mutinhiri lacked both the capacity and the energy to go toe to toe with the ruling party and the MDC Alliance in this year's national elections.

However, sympathizers of the former securocrat and Mashonaland East provincial minister leapt to his defence yesterday saying he had been 'set up to fail' when he was surprisingly catapulted to the leadership of the party.