Axe hangs over Sandi-Moyo

Provincial Affairs minister Eunice Sandi-Moyo's future in President Robert Mugabe's government hangs in the balance after pressure was brought to bear on her to resign from her position in the powerful Zanu-PF women's league.

Zanu-PF insiders said Sandi-Moyo's position in government became untenable because of the gravity of the allegations that were levelled against her and it was just a matter of time before she was shown the exits.

It has been three months since she was savagely dethroned from her post of deputy secretary for the women's league and replaced by Thokozile Mathuthu, also the deputy minister of Information, Media and Broadcasting Services.

Before her removal, members of the women's league had demonstrated against Sandi-Moyo, and the organ's secretary for finance, Sarah Mahoka, accusing the duo of undermining the authority of the First Lady, Grace Mugabe, who chairs organ.

Both were also accused of abusing the First Lady's name to source for donations without her permission.

Zanu-PF spokesperson Simon Khaya-Moyo has been on record saying a report would be made to the police if Mahoka and Sandi-Moyo don't make amends.

Sandi-Moyo and Mahoka have been adamant that their hands were clean and have no apologies to make.

While Sandi-Moyo was humbled to a card-carrying member of Zanu-PF, she has kept her ministerial post, complete with its feather beddings, such as a government house and a ministerial vehicle.

Analysts this week said her future in government was now sorely in the hands of Mugabe, who seems to be waiting for an opportune moment to reshuffle his Cabinet and make some adjustments to his line-up.

Ever since her fallout with members of the women's league, Sandi-Moyo, has been flying under the radar, with the public media shying away from reporting on her activities.

Analysts this week said this was a sure sign that she was now serving at the mercy of her appointing authority who might pull the plug on her at any given time.

Anglistone Sibanda, an analyst, cast aspersions on Sandi-Moyo's survival, arguing the chances were very slim.

"It was always coming that she was going to lose, since she was against the first lady. I honestly do not see her surviving," Sibanda said.

"If she does, it will be at the benevolence of Mugabe himself playing tribal sympathy to former Zapu and Ndebele leaders and even that will create a legitimacy crisis for her," he said.

Sibanda said what complicated Sandi-Moyo's case is that she has lost support from the presidium.

"She is already facing a worst scenario because she has lost a constituency that is influential and it is a given that she is likely to lose her Cabinet post however, that is decided by Mugabe himself as the president, who has the prerogative to appoint and dismiss."

Church leader, Ray Motsi, also concurred that Sandi-Moyo's survival is hinged on Mugabe's benevolence.

"The survival of anybody in politics normally depends on the capacity or resolve as an individual, but if Sandi-Moyo collapses it means that she was a nobody except that she was propped up by certain people who are also now behind her downfall.

"What this means is that she is minister on the whims of the president hence he has the last say. But what I am saying is her stay or departure speaks a lot about her political stature as an individual," Motsi said.

Analyst Samukele Hadebe, added that considering the fact that almost all positions in government have been traditionally backed by party positions, it was unlikely that Sandi-Moyo would survive.

"It is unlikely that she is going to survive. It's unfortunate that she has been removed from her party position and considering that all ministers serve at the pleasure of Mugabe, it's going to be difficult for her to keep the position," Hadebe said.

"As a result, I don't foresee her being in that position for long."

Political analyst Dumisani Nkomo, pointed out that Sandi-Moyo's fate will be decided along factional lines playing out in Zanu-PF, which is split between the Generation 40 (G40) and Team Lacoste camps.

At the time of the demonstrations against her and Mahoka, Team Lacoste drew out knives against Sandi-Moyo, who enjoyed pockets of support in G40. But when it became clear that the first family had turned its back against her, even the few in G40 who were behind her, buckled to pressure.

"It really depends on how she positions herself and which of the two or three Zanu-PF factions emerge victorious," he said.

"She can play the right card by keeping quiet and appearing mature and politically astute," Nkomo said, adding that, "it's difficult to figure because anything is possible in politics and all things are possible in Zimbabwean politics, especially in Zanu-PF where a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like a day as the Bible puts it".

"The problem is that she may be perceived as a threat within the ambit of the presidency or at least the vice presidency because she is one of the most senior former-PF Zapu officials in Zanu-PF and she is a woman who can position her for the vice presidency possibly to counter vice president Phelekezela Mphoko," Nkomo said.