D-Day for Saviour Kasukuwere

FIREWORKS are expected at today's Zanu-PF Mashonaland Central provincial co-ordinating committee (PCC) meeting in Bindura, with the party's rival factions squaring off in what could decide the fate of the embattled national political commissar (PC), Saviour Kasukuwere.

Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda is leading a high-powered delegation on a fact-finding mission to investigate the cause of the various petitions signed against Kasukuwere and his brother, Dickson Mafios, who chairs the province.

Part of the delegation includes other politburo members from the party's 10 provinces and Zanu-PF administration secretary Ignatius Chombo.

Both Chombo and Mudenda confirmed the meeting yesterday.

"Yes, the meeting is on tomorrow (today)," Chombo said curtly.

The PCC meeting, which is reportedly open to members of the public, pits Kasukuwere and Mafios' loyalists against those led by Kazembe Kazembe, the province's vice-chairperson.

Zanu-PF is on the verge of implosion after all the party's 10 provinces signed petitions calling for Kasukuwere's ouster, accusing him of plotting to topple President Robert Mugabe.

But, State Security minister Kembo Mohadi, who is reportedly part of the delegation, yesterday said he was unaware of the meeting.

"Which meeting? I don't know anything about that. I just saw it in the Press that I was supposed to go to Bindura," he said.

"I am not going there and I was not advised. I cannot take instructions from papers."

Mafios said their camp was ready for the meeting and expected "political maturity" to prevail.

"We haven't received any changes since the announcement (that the meeting had been postponed), so we are still on," he said.

"We want people to display a sense of political maturity. If we are discussing issues, they should desist from being personal, we want to observe the party's constitution."

Reports on the ground indicated that different factions were engaged in a series of meetings yesterday in a last-minute effort to push through their resolutions.

Mashonaland Central Provincial Affairs minister Martin Dinha assured both sides that there would be no victimisation or violence.

"As the Minister of State, I will ensure law and order and ensure that people speak their views without fear or favour," he said, before inferring Kasukuwere was no longer wanted.

"There will be no victimisation and the security establishment will be there in full force to ensure that grievances are aired out to the politburo team.

"The 10 provinces have spoken against the conduct of the PC. The grievances are not personal – they relate to the discharge of his duties, where Zanu-PF members have clearly adjudicated on the matter and said the man is no longer capable.

"In my view, I insist that the honourable way for him is to resign. Similarly, Mafios was illegally co-opted and if the people, whom he is supposed to serve, no longer want him, he shouldn't cling to power. We only need Zanu-PF and its leader and no factions. We don't want this G40 cabal."