Will Mugabe reprimand his 'big headed' wife?

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe is under siege!

He is faced with a herculean task of addressing hate speech in his Zanu PF - some of which has been fuelled by his unrestrained wife Grace Mugabe during her cross-country Meet The People rallies that lasted for a fortnight.

The ageing ruler is tomorrow set to chair a potentially explosive politburo meeting which according to party spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo will address amongst other issues escalating "hate speech amongst party activists and officials.

According to the Zimbabwe Mail, the meeting is set to discuss the use of ‘hate language' against fellow party members as well as "high indiscipline within the party".

"The party is concerned by many issues that are happening and those issues (hate language) will be discussed together with some of the things that I cannot discuss with the media," Gumbo was quoted today.

During the rallies, the First Lady claimed that there was a faction leader plotting to take over from President Mugabe and that the person hails from Mashonaland Central Province - a statement which was widely interpreted as targeting vice-president Joice Mujuru.

At the rallies, the First Lady along with a team she was travelling with, popularised the slogan pasi ne gamatox, a statement which Gumbo said was inappropriate and causes divisions within the party.

Gamatox - a dangerous pesticide which was banned in the country was ‘first mentioned' by Didymus Mutasa - the party's secretary for administration while addressing a rally in Manicaland where he said weevils which had been alluded to by President Mugabe should be sprayed with gamatox.

The president had earlier likened Information Minister Jonathan Moyo to a weevil bent on destroying the party from within.

Party hawks, some of whom were using the word gamatox during the rallies, vowed to defend the use of the word, saying Mutasa must be reprimanded for introducing it in the party and apologize for uttering it against fellow party members.

Other issues, according to sources, that are going to be tabled include the party's December Congress guidelines for those aspiring for the party's top posts, together with some of the allegations raised by the First Lady during her rallies.

Zimbabwe Mail