Kasukuwere blocks expulsion of Didymus Mutasa

Zanu-PF national political commissar, Saviour Kasukuwere, has shot down a request by Manicaland province to have the party's parliamentarians linked to ousted secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa, recalled and have the former party stalwart expelled from the former liberation party.

Kasukuwere told Studio7 in an interview after a provincial coordinating meeting that what the party has done in sidelining Mutasa and his colleagues is enough.

He said all suspended members would remain in the party.

He added that there were no plans of taking further action against the suspended individuals, at least for now.

The Acting Manicaland party spokesperson, Samuel Undenge, told Kasukuwere, who was visiting the region with other politburo and central committee members, that the province had recommended that all members closely linked to former Vice President Joice Mujuru be booted out of the party and have by-elections in their constituencies.

Undenge told the visiting party members that Zanu-PF should, in fact, expel everyone linked to the former vice president, who was accused of attempting to remove President Mugabe from power using unconstitutional means before the December Congress.

Mrs. Mujuru, Mutasa and their colleagues, who were removed from top posts before the party's congress last month, have denied that they wanted to remove Mugabe from power.

Undenge said the Manicaland province also wants Zimbabwe to conduct a by-election in Chimanimani West currently held by former Deputy Energy Minister Munacho Mutezo.

Undenge said his province wants Zanu-PF to expel Mutasa as he had acted outside the party's norms by writing to the Southern African Development Community or SADC, discrediting the party's December Congress.

Other Zanu-PF Politburo members that attended today's meeting included Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Higher Education Minister Oppah Muchinguri Kashiri, Kudzi Chipanga, Regional Minister Chris Mushowe and several others.