Jonathan Moyo saga deepens

TSHOLOTSHO North MP Jonathan Moyo was conspicuous by his absence in Parliament on Wednesday as he remained mum about his alleged temporary removal from government by President Robert Mugabe on Tuesday.

According to the Newsday, Moyo was reportedly asked to withdraw from Cabinet so that he could retake the ministerial oath following his June 10 election as an MP.

The Zanu-PF election strategist was one of the beneficiaries of Mugabe's allocation of five ministers from outside Parliament.

The others were Agriculture minister Joseph Made, Mashonaland West Provincial Affairs minister Faber Chidarikire, Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs minister Martin Dinha and Primary and Secondary Education minister Lazarus Dokora.

Government sources on Tuesday said the 91-year-old leader had asked Moyo to bow out so that proper procedures could be followed in swearing him in as a minister after becoming an elected MP.

However, the unusual step has raised speculation after government refused to disclose information on Moyo's fate.

The minister himself, who of late has been vocal on social media, has avoided the issue since the story broke on Tuesday.

Former Information Communication Technology minister Nelson Chamisa tried to ask Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa about Moyo during a meleé in the National Assembly over the absence of national broadcaster ZBC coverage, but he was ignored.

Moyo was reportedly not at his Harare offices yesterday and he told one of his inquisitive followers on microblogging site Twitter that he was tweeting from cyberspace.

Sources close to Mugabe's advisers said the veteran ruler used Section 104 (3) of the Constitution, which limits voting rights in Parliament and Section 104 (5) to remove him from the post, but had not gone as far as stripping him of his perks.