'I remain loyal to Zanu-PF,' says ousted senior official

Ousted Zanu-PF Manicaland provincial chairman Ambassador John Shumba Mvundura said he will remain a loyal member of the ruling party and accepts the decision taken against him.

Mvundura was kicked out of office through a vote of no confidence in the build-up to the recent Zanu-PF congress.

He was accused of working in cahoots with sacked Vice-President Joice Mujuru and others who were suspected of plotting to topple President Mugabe from power.

Mujuru and eight other ministers have since been fired from government.

Mvundura assumed the chairmanship position in an acting capacity, taking over from Mike Madiro, while he was still serving as Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Cuba in 2013. He was brought in to bring sanity to Manicaland after serious internal fights rocked the province.

This followed a petition written against former Zanu-PF secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa who was accused of dictatorship and fanning divisions in the province where he was then considered, the political godfather.

Mvundura was then elected substantive chairman after thumping Monica Mutsvangwa — who is now deputy Information minister — in an election. In an interview with The Standard on Friday, Mvundura said he had no regrets for leaving his diplomatic mission to assume the short-lived party position.

"I don't have any regrets at all," he said. "I have accepted the verdict and I am a true cadre of the party. I will just follow the orders as they are given by my seniors. Even during the war, some commanders were just changed even in the same section and the war would proceed well. I am very much willing to work for the betterment and future of Zanu-PF."

Asked if he was still interested in being reappointed to the diplomatic service, Mvundura said it was up to Mugabe and Zanu-PF to consider him for any future postings.

The majority of the dismissed Zanu-PF officials have also said they will not contest their expulsion and would just follow orders from the new leadership.

Mvundura has been a career diplomat since Independence. From 1980 to 1988 he was in Mozambique as an ambassador. He was then transferred to Malawi up to 1993 when he decided to join active politics.

He served in different capacities in Manicaland province and in 2000 he was again assigned to open an embassy in Libya during the time when the country was facing massive fuel shortages and stayed there for four years.

In 2005 he was posted to Nigeria and stayed there for almost five years before being posted to Cuba.

He returned home in 2013 when he was asked to lead the Zanu-PF Manicaland province after the dismissal of Madiro who was accused of stealing cattle donated to Mugabe for his birthday and of defrauding diamond companies in Marange. The charges were dismissed by the courts.

With this rich history as a career diplomat, Mvundura might be one of the biggest losers in the Zanu-PF purging.