Mnangagwa says puppets will never rule Zimbabwe

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has declared that the opposition will never rule Zimbabwe because Zanu-PF was the sole custodian of the country's liberation history.

Addressing hundreds of ruling party supporters at Bata Shoe Company in Gweru, Midlands province yesterday, Mnangagwa said: "We will never allow for puppets to rule this country."

He then turned his anger on Western countries for imposing sanctions on Zimbabwe, saying: "They sanctioned us because we want to determine our own destiny. Germany, Japan, France and other Western countries are building their own countries. Can we, therefore, be stupid to have foreigners determine the development of our country? Yes, they can come with investments, but with no strings attached."

He also took a swipe at secessionist Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) saying the opposition party's activists were possessed by evil spirits.

"We have those with a spirit to

divide the country. They are possessed with the demons of Legion, and I urge you not to listen to Mthwakazi. Zimbabwe will remain a republic and a unitary State," he said.

This is not the first time that Mnangagwa has crossed paths with the secessionist group, which is pushing for the separation of Matabeleland from the rest of the country.

In March this year while addressing a rally in Chitungwiza, the Zanu-PF leader warned that those behind Mthwakazi would have their lives
"shortened".

During his visit to the Midlands province, Mnangagwa toured Sino-Zimbabwe Cement, Lesaffre and Bata.

Zanu-PF party members turned the programme into a campaign rally, with hundreds of party supporters bussed in from the around the province's eight districts.

Mnangagwa was accompanied by Industry minister Sekai Nzenza and her deputy Raj Modi, and several senior party and government officials.