Job Sikhala defends Mliswa over picture with Kasukuwere

MDC-T senior official Job Wiwa Sikhala has defended Themba Mliswa over his pictures which went viral on social media where he appears together with the Zanu PF national Commissar Saviour Kasukuwere seemingly to be in good books that what they portray in public.

"There is nothing surprising at all with the meeting between Mliswa and his erstwhile friends from Zanu PF. I had an opportunity to be friends with Jonathan Moyo when he was the independent Member of Parliament for Tsholotsho," Sikhala said.

"We used to meet weekends and talk . My enthusiasm to know the internal operations of Zanu PF was quenched with stories Jonathan Moyo told me. At that time Jonathan Moyo was a vicious campaigner for Gideon Gono's presidency. He wanted Gono to dramatically resign from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe as Governor and challenge Mugabe for national presidency."

He said despite the MDC support for him in Tsholotsho he had a low opinion of Morgan Tsvangirai.

"Asking him why he has such low opinion of a man whose party supported him in Tsholotsho, he said that he never solicited for the MDC support and that the MDC jumped to support him because they knew he will embarrass them. Asking him why he still hangs around most of the times with Zanu PF people than opposition politicians," he said.

"He told me two reasons. One that opposition politicians are not interested to be his friends and secondly that even if they were interested it would not go far because the majority of his friends are from Zanu PF because it is the political party he originates from. So his political buddies are in Zanu PF and not opposition because he was nurtured in Zanu PF and that his blood has Zanu PF parentage."

He said so it is naive for anyone to expect him to have new friends outside those whom he grew up with.

"I also tried to put myself into his shoes and realised that I grew up having Tafadzwa Musekiwa, Learnmore Jongwe, Daniel Molokele as my friends. For anyone to expect that our friendship would suddenly come to an end because of our political differences is naivety of the highest order. Jonathan Moyo's statement had some elements of truth," said Sikhala.

"Mliswa 's politics has been Zanu PF for years. He rose to become a Provincial Chairman and the member of the Central Committee. For us to expect him to have cut ties with his friends in Zanu PF is being naive. That is where most of his friends are. This is a man who has been Mugabe's fitness trainer. The man who was Gono's fitness trainer. A fitness trainer for Saviour Kasukuwere. For someone to be your personal fitness trainer demonstrates that you have synergies and close friendship. You can not pick a person from nowhere or from the streets to be your fitness trainer."

He said Mliswa has his political homeboys whom people must know will meet and discuss issues of past operations.

"I am not surprised at all. It is like seeing Elton Mangoma or Tendai Biti pictured having dinner with Tsvangirai today. Anyone surprised will be naive," he said.