Didymus Mutasa sneaks back into the country

Former Zanu-PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa, who was for the past month in India where his wife was undergoing treatment, is reportedly back in the country.

Mutasa, smarting from his failure to make it into the Zanu-PF Central Committee which ruled him out of appointment to the Politburo, has been making unprecedented moves among them requesting Sadc chaired by President Mugabe to nullify the just-ended and highly subscribed 6th National People's Congress.

He was making these frantic efforts while he was away.

Sources told The Herald that Mutasa was spotted at his home in Rusape with some Zanu-PF provincial members aligned to him paying homage at his house on Christmas Eve.

"Some of his allies who went to see him are provincial members from his constituency, among them Cdes Tedious Choka, Christine Murembeve who also doubles up as his constituency secretary. Also present was Colonel (Rtd) Topira Mutasa, his nephew.

"They went to see him at his house at No. 2 Mbuya Nehanda Drive around 3pm. What shocked Mutasa was to find that his house was no longer guarded by the Police Protection Unit, a privilege he had enjoyed for a long time," said a source.

Another source said Mutasa wanted to maintain a low profile fearing that he would face a backlash from Zanu-PF followers if they saw him in public places.

"He did not want most people to know that he is back. He just wanted it to be a secret but has no plans to be seen in public yet. I will not be surprised if he boycotts even Parliament when it resumes sitting," said the source.

Efforts to get a comment from Mutasa were fruitless as his mobile phone went unanswer- ed.

Manicaland provincial chairperson Samuel Undenge earlier this week said the province wanted him expelled for his continued denigration of the revolutionary party and its First Secretary and leader President Mugabe.

The call came following reports attributed to Mutasa in which he allegedly accused the party leadership of being undemocratic.

Undenge said there were sentiments in the province that Mutasa should be censured as his utterances did not show remorse.

Minister of State for Manicaland Provincial Affairs Mandi Chimene said there was consensus in the province that Mutasa be expelled.

Chimene said Mutasa should be expelled despite the directive from Zanu-PF national political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere for provinces to stop further suspensions of party executives.

The former Zanu-PF secretary for administration is said to have roped in MDC-T and a Western-funded international NGO to subvert the will of the people so that he could be restored to his former positions in the party and the Government.

Mutasa is said to have used his contacts in MDC-T to get the issue of his failure to land a Central Committee seat and dismissal from Government tabled at a meeting of the Socialist International Council, which met at the United Nations Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, from December 12-13.

The Socialist International Council meeting was convened to discuss high levels of insecurity and threats to world peace.

Zanu-PF is not a member of the Socialist International Council though the MPLA of Angola, Frelimo of Mozambique, SWAPO of Namibia, ANC (South Africa), and Chama Cha Mapinduzi (Tanzania) are members along with the MDC, the Botswana Democratic Party and Patriotic Front of Zambia which are listed as consultative parties.

While in India, Mutasa reportedly, phoned secretaries-general of sister liberation movements in Southern Africa to make the similar claims he had made to South African President Jacob Zuma, whom he lobbied, saying former VP Dr Joice Mujuru, several ministers and himself had been unjustly ejected from Zanu-PF and Government.

In an interview with the Independent newspaper of South Africa, Mutasa urged President Zuma to alert other regional governments about Zanu-PF's congress where he and Dr Mujuru, among other officials, were ejected.

He claimed that their sacking was unprocedural and undemocratic.

Ironically, Dr Mujuru who lost not only her party and Government positions but also her parliamentary seat, has since accepted her fate and congratulated the leadership elected at congress.