MDC-T suspends minister over Wikileaks cables

The Independent reports that MDC-T Harare provincial executive last week suspended its spokesman and Justice and Legal Affairs deputy minister Obert Gutu for describing Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai as an inept, weak and indecisive leader during a meeting with US diplomats.
 
MDC-T Harare provincial chairman Paul Madzore on Wednesday confirmed to the Zimbabwe Independent that the provincial executive had suspended Gutu last week over statements he made to US ambassador Charles Ray in January 2010.

Madzore said Don Chiringa, an official in the prime minister's office, was now the acting provincial spokesman.

However, Gutu said he was unaware of the suspension.

MDC-T secretary-general Tendai Biti said the provincial executive had no power to suspend Gutu.

"It is the national executive that can do that. The provincial executive has not communicated with us on that issue so it is not true that Gutu has been suspended," Biti said.

The suspension flies in the face of the party's national executive committee's decision to ignore WikiLeaks cables which exposed four top party officials, namely national organising secretary Nelson Chamisa, national treasurer Roy Bennett, Biti and Gutu.

Tsvangirai last week dismissed the cables as mere gossip, saying he did not consider WikiLeaks cables as reliable information.

According to the leaked cables, Gutu said Tsvangirai had a tendency to listen to the wrong people. He singled out Ian Makone, Tsvangirai's chief of staff, and his wife Theresa, the co-Home Affairs minister.

Gutu also claimed that Tsvangirai practised nepotism and cronyism when it came to appointing senior people to party and government positions.