News / National
'Zanu-PF factional fights could turn bloody'
12 Aug 2014 at 13:52hrs | Views
There are fears Zanu-PF factional fights could turn bloody after the party yesterday said dozens of women countrywide had been kidnapped as the fight to replace President Robert Mugabe intensifies.
The Women's League conference starting on Thursday has become the latest battle front amid reports of bribery and intimidation taking centre stage as the factions led by vice President Joice Mujuru and Emmerson Mnangagwa make clear their intentions ahead of the elective congress in December.
Zanu-PF insiders said while their party had already been divided, First Lady Grace Mugabe's entry into politics had triggered a dogfight of unprecedented proportions amid indications it could get worse ahead of the congress.
Yesterday, Zanu-PF Women's League chairperson Oppah Muchinguri confirmed that alarming levels of intimidation had rocked the party.
Muchinguri addressed a press conference in the company of politburo members, Jonathan Moyo, Ednah Madzongwe and Patrick Zhuwawo. Also in attendance were Monica Mutsvangwa and Phillip Chiyangwa.
Said Muchinguri: "In some cases, the league has received reports which border on criminal conduct where its members have been kidnapped, or sequestered against their will and without the knowledge of their families who do not know the whereabouts of their loved ones.
"These reports are very worrying and they must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The league wants to make it very clear and put on record the fact that any of its members who are kidnapped or sequestered ahead of the conference will be deregistered.
"For the same reasons, the league calls upon law enforcement authorities to take the kidnapping reports seriously and let the law take its course against the culprits regardless of their standing or station in the party or society."
Asked to name the top officials, Muchinguri said the culprits were known but they wanted police to carry out investigations first. Observers said the comments were directed at the Mujuru faction.
Judging from the display of manipulation, outright bribery of voters and rigging at the ruling party's internal 6th National Youth League elections last weekend, divisions in Zanu-PF may escalate to unprecedented levels.
Observers said allegations of rigging and vote buying raised by Zanu-PF youths and Mugabe during the Youth League elections also cast doubt on the credibility of Zimbabwe's electoral processes even at national level.
It has emerged a dossier submitted to the party's politburo last week revealed plans by senior leaders to rig the internal elections but it was ignored.
Officials complained the party was reluctant to act on the irregularities, including allegations that party officials in their 60s from Mashonaland East and Manicaland provinces voted.
The Daily News has learnt that the dossier prominently names the offices of party bigwigs as being at the centre of the plot, which last week triggered chaotic scenes and caused a night-long tallying of votes at the youth conference.
While Zanu-PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa was unreachable for comment yesterday, national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo declined to comment, referring questions to Shamu, who was also not taking calls from this paper yesterday.
Rival Mnangagwa and Mujuru factions clashed amid allegations youthful voters were bribed with cash and entertainment vouchers, including tickets to Jah Prayzah's show.
To forestall chaos at the Women League vote, Khaya Moyo has called an urgent meeting of the National Elections Directorate at the Zanu-PF headquarters tomorrow to heal widening rifts ahead of the vote.
The meeting has been called as Zanu-PF senator Monica Mutsvangwa, believed to belong to the Mnangagwa faction, publicly sledged Mutasa for engineering her defeat in provincial polls. She has formally lodged a complaint with the provincial executive citing vote rigging, accusing some Politburo and Central Committee members in Manicaland of plotting her downfall.
National Assembly MP for Gokwe-Gumunyu, Melania Majovani has also lodged a police report against minister of State in the Office of the President Flora Buka for abducting her Women's League supporters in a tussle for Gokwe Women's League first candidate.
"I am calling for a meeting of members of the National Elections Directorate on Wednesday the 13th of August 2014 at the party's headquarters," Khaya Moyo said in a statement.
"The meeting will start at 2pm and is meant to finalise preparations for the Women's League conference which starts in Harare on Thursday the 14th of August 2014." Confronted with the ugly scenes of factionalism, Mugabe acknowledged that internal wrangles hurt the credibility of the party's electoral system, and indeed, that the youths were compromised with inducements.
"I know there have been hitches, ndinoziva zvangu kuti vakuru vamwe vakamboedza apa nepapa, (some top officials tried) some monies and so on," Mugabe said. "Get away from that! Mukaita tsika yekujaira kupihwa mari (Don't be in the habit of receiving bribes) and you want to act nekuti ndatopihwa mari (I have been bribed) kana ndisina kupihwa mari hapana chandinoita, (No bribe, no vote) you are spoiled already.
"To me you don't deserve to be a youth leader at all. If you allow other people to buy you and if you have .... goodness me, you are rubbish. You are just rubbish, dirty rubbish as the person who has given you money both of you.
"The giver and the given are alike but we know, you have emerged, most of you are not like that but some are like that we know and kumusoro kwedu kune vane tsika iyoyo, vanonotsvaga mari yekuti vatenge kuti vadiwe, kutenga kuti udiwe. (Even among us the leaders, some use bribes to gain votes) You are not political prostitutes, are you? Some people will want to make you political prostitutes.''
It is these events that observers of Zimbabwe's political landscape argue have set the stage for a chaotic Women's League's national conference this week.
Analysts said it was worrisome enough when it is only Zanu-PF fighting, "you don't want to imagine what will happen when there are other party colours."
Pedzisai Ruhanya, the director of political think tank Zimbabwe Democracy Institute (ZDI), said there would be problems at the next level as a result of this, adding elections in Zanu-PF were just a smoke screen.
"The leadership of Zanu-PF since its formation has never been chosen democratically," Ruhanya said.
"Since Mugabe came to power in the party in 1977, there has never been any contestation to his rule. We are yet to see an open election. There could be a third force in Zanu-PF that could come and wrestle power from these two factions."
Analysts said the majority of the people in Zanu-PF cannot trust their party now and aggrieved party members have continuously accused senior party officials of vote buying, using parallel structures to rig the system in their favour and that of their political allies.
Long-time rivals Mujuru and Mnangagwa are using the internal elections to position themselves to succeed Mugabe when he eventually steps down. They add that the ruling party risks losing its own followers. Several hard-liners in the defeated Mnangagwa faction broke a taboo by harshly criticising the poll as rigged.
Mnangagwa's protégé Lewis Mathuthu who lost to Varaidzo Mupunga from the Mujuru camp in the Youth League vote said the poll was flawed.
"I know that it was an internal process, but let me be honest, the elections were not fair," he said. "It was very unfortunate that senior leaders had an interest. People were given money, there is overwhelming evidence that the elections were rigged."
The winning candidate, however, maintains the poll was free and fair.
The Women's League conference starting on Thursday has become the latest battle front amid reports of bribery and intimidation taking centre stage as the factions led by vice President Joice Mujuru and Emmerson Mnangagwa make clear their intentions ahead of the elective congress in December.
Zanu-PF insiders said while their party had already been divided, First Lady Grace Mugabe's entry into politics had triggered a dogfight of unprecedented proportions amid indications it could get worse ahead of the congress.
Yesterday, Zanu-PF Women's League chairperson Oppah Muchinguri confirmed that alarming levels of intimidation had rocked the party.
Muchinguri addressed a press conference in the company of politburo members, Jonathan Moyo, Ednah Madzongwe and Patrick Zhuwawo. Also in attendance were Monica Mutsvangwa and Phillip Chiyangwa.
Said Muchinguri: "In some cases, the league has received reports which border on criminal conduct where its members have been kidnapped, or sequestered against their will and without the knowledge of their families who do not know the whereabouts of their loved ones.
"These reports are very worrying and they must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. The league wants to make it very clear and put on record the fact that any of its members who are kidnapped or sequestered ahead of the conference will be deregistered.
"For the same reasons, the league calls upon law enforcement authorities to take the kidnapping reports seriously and let the law take its course against the culprits regardless of their standing or station in the party or society."
Asked to name the top officials, Muchinguri said the culprits were known but they wanted police to carry out investigations first. Observers said the comments were directed at the Mujuru faction.
Judging from the display of manipulation, outright bribery of voters and rigging at the ruling party's internal 6th National Youth League elections last weekend, divisions in Zanu-PF may escalate to unprecedented levels.
Observers said allegations of rigging and vote buying raised by Zanu-PF youths and Mugabe during the Youth League elections also cast doubt on the credibility of Zimbabwe's electoral processes even at national level.
It has emerged a dossier submitted to the party's politburo last week revealed plans by senior leaders to rig the internal elections but it was ignored.
Officials complained the party was reluctant to act on the irregularities, including allegations that party officials in their 60s from Mashonaland East and Manicaland provinces voted.
The Daily News has learnt that the dossier prominently names the offices of party bigwigs as being at the centre of the plot, which last week triggered chaotic scenes and caused a night-long tallying of votes at the youth conference.
While Zanu-PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa was unreachable for comment yesterday, national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo declined to comment, referring questions to Shamu, who was also not taking calls from this paper yesterday.
Rival Mnangagwa and Mujuru factions clashed amid allegations youthful voters were bribed with cash and entertainment vouchers, including tickets to Jah Prayzah's show.
To forestall chaos at the Women League vote, Khaya Moyo has called an urgent meeting of the National Elections Directorate at the Zanu-PF headquarters tomorrow to heal widening rifts ahead of the vote.
The meeting has been called as Zanu-PF senator Monica Mutsvangwa, believed to belong to the Mnangagwa faction, publicly sledged Mutasa for engineering her defeat in provincial polls. She has formally lodged a complaint with the provincial executive citing vote rigging, accusing some Politburo and Central Committee members in Manicaland of plotting her downfall.
National Assembly MP for Gokwe-Gumunyu, Melania Majovani has also lodged a police report against minister of State in the Office of the President Flora Buka for abducting her Women's League supporters in a tussle for Gokwe Women's League first candidate.
"I am calling for a meeting of members of the National Elections Directorate on Wednesday the 13th of August 2014 at the party's headquarters," Khaya Moyo said in a statement.
"The meeting will start at 2pm and is meant to finalise preparations for the Women's League conference which starts in Harare on Thursday the 14th of August 2014." Confronted with the ugly scenes of factionalism, Mugabe acknowledged that internal wrangles hurt the credibility of the party's electoral system, and indeed, that the youths were compromised with inducements.
"I know there have been hitches, ndinoziva zvangu kuti vakuru vamwe vakamboedza apa nepapa, (some top officials tried) some monies and so on," Mugabe said. "Get away from that! Mukaita tsika yekujaira kupihwa mari (Don't be in the habit of receiving bribes) and you want to act nekuti ndatopihwa mari (I have been bribed) kana ndisina kupihwa mari hapana chandinoita, (No bribe, no vote) you are spoiled already.
"To me you don't deserve to be a youth leader at all. If you allow other people to buy you and if you have .... goodness me, you are rubbish. You are just rubbish, dirty rubbish as the person who has given you money both of you.
"The giver and the given are alike but we know, you have emerged, most of you are not like that but some are like that we know and kumusoro kwedu kune vane tsika iyoyo, vanonotsvaga mari yekuti vatenge kuti vadiwe, kutenga kuti udiwe. (Even among us the leaders, some use bribes to gain votes) You are not political prostitutes, are you? Some people will want to make you political prostitutes.''
It is these events that observers of Zimbabwe's political landscape argue have set the stage for a chaotic Women's League's national conference this week.
Analysts said it was worrisome enough when it is only Zanu-PF fighting, "you don't want to imagine what will happen when there are other party colours."
Pedzisai Ruhanya, the director of political think tank Zimbabwe Democracy Institute (ZDI), said there would be problems at the next level as a result of this, adding elections in Zanu-PF were just a smoke screen.
"The leadership of Zanu-PF since its formation has never been chosen democratically," Ruhanya said.
"Since Mugabe came to power in the party in 1977, there has never been any contestation to his rule. We are yet to see an open election. There could be a third force in Zanu-PF that could come and wrestle power from these two factions."
Analysts said the majority of the people in Zanu-PF cannot trust their party now and aggrieved party members have continuously accused senior party officials of vote buying, using parallel structures to rig the system in their favour and that of their political allies.
Long-time rivals Mujuru and Mnangagwa are using the internal elections to position themselves to succeed Mugabe when he eventually steps down. They add that the ruling party risks losing its own followers. Several hard-liners in the defeated Mnangagwa faction broke a taboo by harshly criticising the poll as rigged.
Mnangagwa's protégé Lewis Mathuthu who lost to Varaidzo Mupunga from the Mujuru camp in the Youth League vote said the poll was flawed.
"I know that it was an internal process, but let me be honest, the elections were not fair," he said. "It was very unfortunate that senior leaders had an interest. People were given money, there is overwhelming evidence that the elections were rigged."
The winning candidate, however, maintains the poll was free and fair.
Source - dailynews
