'Mnangagwa's wings must be clipped'

A NEW shadowy Zanu-PF lobby group, Vana VaChaminuka, has called on President Robert Mugabe to urgently intervene in the ongoing internal party fights and clip Justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa's wings, claiming he had become a "de facto Prime Minister".

The group claimed Mnangagwa now posed a serious threat to Mugabe as he had successfully "sneaked into the First Family's tent" from where he launched a campaign to purge all officials linked to his rival Vice-President Joice Mujuru's camp.

Mnangagwa and Mujuru are leading two rival factions fighting to succeed Mugabe.

The group, which claimed to represent party youths, said they had drafted a petition which they would present to Mugabe soon, urging the veteran politician to be wary of Mnangagwa's alleged underhand machinations to usurp power.

In the petition, the group is also lobbying Zanu-PF founder members to hand over the leadership baton to the party's Young Turks, among them Information minister Jonathan Moyo, Tourism minister Walter Mzembi, Environment minister Saviour Kasukuwere and politburo member and Mugabe's nephew Patrick Zhuwao.

"We are also lobbying Gushungo (Mugabe's clan name) to clip Mnangagwa's wings, it's time the entire generation of liberators took a rest and promoted youthful leaders like Jonathan Moyo, Mzembi, Kasukuwere and Zhuwao," the group said.

"It's time Zanu-PF became a world-class political party that can deliver election promises and for once successfully implement an economic blueprint like the ZimAsset document," the statement by the group read in part.

The group said it was fully behind First Lady Grace Mugabe and wanted her succeed her husband.

"Mnangagwa has played his cards very well and is now the de facto Prime Minister. What Mugabe fails to realise is that the ground is now very shaky under his feet. Building his political power around Mnangagwa is really as good as building on quicksand. The same impunity, the same vigour and weaponry used against Amai Mujuru can be used against Gushungo should he ever stray from Mnangagwa's perceived path," Vana VaChaminuka's statement reads.

"If (Harare provincial youth chairman (Godwin) Gomwe and crew can besiege the airport to block a sitting Vice-President, then surely if ordered, they can do so on a sitting President," the group said in apparent reference to an incident where a group of Zanu-PF youths allegedly aligned to Mnangagwa stormed Harare International Airport early this week in a bid to block Mujuru from flying out of the country.

The group said the continued purge on Mujuru members was making the under-fire Vice-President more popular such that if she decided to walk out of Zanu-PF, that would be a "catastrophe" to Mugabe.

"Gushungo has no control at all of the Mnangagwa centre of power, as it is unconstitutional, but powerful enough to change the constitution of the ruling party. These mobs that gather in these demonstrations, be it against Mujuru or (Energy minister Dzikamai) Mavhaire, are mobs controlled by Mnangagwa and should he refuse to share his mobs with Gushungo or use them against Gushungo, then surely we will be worse off than the Arab Spring."

The group added: "Those who brought the rumours to the First Lady that Amai Mujuru hated the First Lady clearly had an agenda, and clearly they too had to say something to Amai Mujuru to provoke her into reacting and speaking ill so that they could then record the conversation in parts that suited their agenda.

"It is really a shame that people like Sydney Sekeramayi, Didymus Mutasa, Nicholas Goche, Jabulani Sibanda and many more who have been very loyal to Gushungo are now being played against Gushungo.

"There really was no need to embarrass Joice Mujuru as she was still going to be thrashed by Gushungo had she stood against him in the race for the Zanu-PF presidency. Mugabe should now be very careful and not step on Mnangagwa's toes as he has proved that he now has more political muscle and influence in Zanu-PF than Gushungo himself."

Efforts to authenticate the claims raised by the shadowy group were fruitless yesterday as acting Zanu-PF spokesperson Simon Khaya Moyo could not be reached for comment.