Mutsvangwa kicked out for disrespecting Mugabe

THE Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) last night said it had kicked out Christopher Mutsvangwa as its leader and also revoked his wife, Monica's membership of the association.

The war veterans laid out a 16-point charge sheet against Mutsvangwa, who is also the Minister of War Veterans and War Collaborators' Welfare.

Among other things, Mutsvangwa was accused of disrespecting President Robert Mugabe as well as threatening physical harm on Prof Jonathan Moyo, a Cabinet minister and Politburo member.

Also given the boot were his secretary general Victor Matemadanda and the association's deputy chairman Headman Moyo.

The shock move came just hours after the War Veterans Elders led by Patrick Nyaruwata asked First Lady Grace Mugabe, during a rally in Chiweshe in Mashonaland Central, to ask the President on their behalf to cause the election of a new leadership.

They said the war veterans' association and ministry were rudderless under Mutsvangwa, who was elevated to the position in 2014.

Mandi Chimene, the spokesperson for the ZNLWVA – who announced the decision last night – said they were "going back to President Mugabe to tell him the minister he gave us isn't working". This could trigger Mutsvangwa's removal from Cabinet.

Chimene said Mutsvangwa now thought of himself as a powerful force in Zimbabwe who spent more time "fighting in newspapers" and neglecting the welfare of members.

Mutsvangwa, she added, was selective of the people he worked with while shutting out some members of the executive.

Mutsvangwa is also set to appear before a Zanu-PF disciplinary committee this month after the Zanu-PF Mashonaland West provincial executive last year passed a vote of no confidence in him. The Women's League, on the other hand, passed a vote of no confidence in his wife, Monica, whose Zanu-PF membership is also hanging by a thread.

Mutsvangwa, said the province, was found guilty of gross misconduct and disloyalty and treachery following his utterances in the media where he was quoted saying: "We'll always respect the institution of marriage and he (political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere) is confused and conflating the institution of marriage and that of the State."

Mutsvangwa was at the time suggesting the First Lady could not be placed on an equal pedestal as her husband, President Mugabe.

His predecessor in the war veterans' association, Jabulani Sibanda, was expelled from the party for claiming the First Lady had staged a "bedroom coup".