Gumbo in 'hot soup' for defending Mujuru, provinces want him fired

UNDER FIRE Zanu-PF national spokesperson Rugare Gumbo has been slammed for abusing his power as party speaker and issuing out his own statements based on factional lines last Friday purporting that it was the outcome of a Politburo meeting held the previous day

The Midlands and Matabeleland North provincial co-ordinating committees have resolved that Gumbo be relieved of his job as he lacks capacity and integrity to continue as the party spokesperson.

Matabeleland North Province's co-coordinating committee attacked Gumbo on Saturday for abusing his position to speak on behalf of his faction at the expense of the official party position.

The Midlands Province's PCC also met over the weekend and took Gumbo — who hails from the province and was in the meeting — to task for saying that allegations of corruption, subversion and abuse of office leveled against Vice President Mujuru were false.

Gumbo was asked to explain what he meant when he said there was Tsholotsho 2 in the making.

Provincial spokesperson Cornelius Mupereri said in a statement that throughout the meeting, Gumbo referred to VP Mujuru as the President.

"The Midlands PCC, therefore, unequivocally established that (Rugare) Gumbo is no longer fit to be the spokesperson of the party given his deliberate factional bias on issues," he said.

Mupereri said the PCC felt that as a party cadre, Gumbo had failed the most basic test of following the party, its principles and ideology and instead was bent on constantly following an individual.

"In the meeting, Rugare Gumbo consistently referred to VP Mujuru as the President, proving beyond reasonable doubt that in Rugare Gumbo's world, VP Mujuru is already the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe," he was quoted saying.

"By defending VP Mujuru against allegations raised by the First Lady and accentuated by the President himself, Rugare Gumbo implied that the First Family was not telling the truth, deciding instead to take sides with the faction led by Joice Mujuru."

Mupereri said the PCC noted that when the public media was savagely attacking Emmerson Mnangagwa in the last few years for what later became baseless Tsholotsho allegations, Gumbo's principle of defending party cadres against the media did not apply in the case, raising a double standard approach.

Speaking after the Matabeleland North provincial co-coordinating meeting in Lupane to outline the duties and responsibilities of the provincial congress co-ordination committee and appointment of subcommittee members, provincial political head and Politburo member Obert Mpofu, said they did not support factionalism.

"Now, we don't know whether those charged with speaking on behalf of the party are speaking on behalf of the party or faction. An old man appears on television frothing from the mouth, speaking for a faction and not the party. We do not agree with that," said Dr Mpofu in apparent reference to Gumbo's habitual misrepresentation of Politburo deliberations.

"If you are a Zanu-PF spokesman, speak on behalf of Zanu-PF, do not talk about your own things.

"We do not want that, it destroys the party. If you tell people, tell people things that will take the party forward and not what pleases you.

"If you see a person blaming others, they have a problem. Speak for the party and tomorrow speak for your things. They should not make us omatholwane babo," Mpofu fumed.