'Baba Jukwa' offered top job, fired

FORMER Sunday Mail editor, Edmund Kudzayi, who was reportedly parachuted from his then base in the United Kingdom to take charge of Zimpapers' weekend flagship, The Sunday Mail by then Information Minister Jonathan Moyo, and still has the "cyber-terrorism" charge hanging over his head has been rewarded with a plum job as Zimpapers group online editor, NewsDay reported.

However, indications yesterday were that the State media group had withdrawn the offer, in a hazy development that has left the digital media geek in limbo, according to sources.

"Kudzayi had been given the Group Online Editor and what was left was official announcement, but following a high-level meeting today [yesterday] Innocent Gore will take over. The position would have given Baba Jukwa sole charge of all online content and that would have made him a very powerful person given the fact that the media is gravitating towards digital platforms," a source said.

Zimpapers Editor-in-chief Caesar Zvayi refused to comment, referring questions to group chief executive officer Pikirayi Deketeke or head of human resources Herbert Simemeza.

Deketeke was not available for comment while Simemeza said nothing had been finalised yet.

As the internal fights for succession within Zanu-PF threatened to boil over, Moyo's links to Kudzayi almost had the Higher Education Minister fired after President Robert Mugabe labelled him a "weevil".