Mnangagwa, Zhuwao face off in Davos

A SHOWDOWN is looming at the ongoing World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Switzerland, where former President Robert Mugabe's nephew, Patrick Zhuwao, has threatened to doorstep and embarrass President Emmerson Mnangagwa's "kleptocratic" government delegation in front of world leaders and potential international investors.

In an opinion piece penned from his secret base outside the country, Zhuwao at the weekend claimed that he would travel to Davos for a public showdown with Mnangagwa.

"I actually saw the coup conspirators and terrorist junta's senior officials at Dubai airport on January 20, 2018 on their way to Davos. Handei tione tonosangana ikoko (Let's go on ahead to meet there)," he said.

"ED's (Mnangagwa) primary objective at Davos is the recruitment of more EDiots (a derogative name for the President's supporters), who will be conned and deprived of their wealth and resources.

"He will find #2018Resistance waiting for him there; working the conference behind the scenes, thanks to the experience gathered within Zanu-PF."

Mnangagwa is among several heads of State and government attending the WEF summit, which starts today and runs until Friday.
He is leading a Zimbabwean delegation on a charm offensive to lure foreign investment into the country to jumpstart the economy.
Zhuwao is among several former Cabinet ministers who served under Mugabe, but went into exile to avoid retributive arrests after Mnangagwa took over as President in November last year.

Mnangagwa recently cited Zhuwao as one the three former Mugabe ministers who were "abusing social media" to "say funny things" meant to discredit his government, with the other two being former Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo and his ex-Local Government counterpart, Saviour Kasukuwere.

"Whatever wrong we might have done to you, we need to forgive … I have forgiven the cabal and they are in the country except for only three, who remain outside and [are] still saying funny things, but all that will soon come to an end," Mnangagwa said while addressing South African businesses and potential investors in Pretoria last month.

But both Moyo and Zhuwao have remained defiant, routinely firing salvos at Mnangagwa from their hideouts, while there were claims Kasukuwere was said to have recently made overtures to engage Mnangagwa and negotiate his way back home.

Zhuwao warned potential foreign investors at the Davos summit that Mnangagwa's regime was out to dupe them of their hard-earned money.

"The regime of the coup conspirators and terrorist junta is so kleptocratic that only EDiots will trust it especially at Davos. #2018Resistance will be in full force at Davos taking note of those EDiots engaging and dealing with the kleptocrats of the coup conspirators and terrorist junta," he continued.

"#2018Resistance to kleptocratic primitive accumulation will take to task any and all individuals, who represent public institutions like governments or listed companies and bring such untoward engagement and dealings to the attention of their various stakeholders.

"The regime of coup conspirators and terrorist junta is not only kleptocratic, but is so ideologically vacuous that its only guiding principle is primitive accumulation.

"The regime is made up of the very same characters that were cited by the United Nations report on the Plundering of DR Congo Natural Resources: Final Report of the Panel of Experts (S/2002/1146), with particular reference to paragraphs 27 and 28.
"How can any right-thinking person take such kleptocrats seriously?

"These kleptocrats are steeped in the processes of primitive accumulation dating back to the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo two decades ago."

Zhuwao accused the government of using violence to accumulate wealth.

"Mnangagwa is, therefore, coming here to Davos so that he can find takers for the resources that they have captured from Zimbabweans," he said.

"The coup conspirators and terrorist junta have used this model to grab power in Zimbabwe and now want to abuse State power to further accumulate wealth."

Zhuwao said he would be conducting his activities on the sidelines of the WEF meeting and urged international investors to "conduct proper due diligence on these kleptocrats and avoid being hoodwinked, as was done to a British newspaper, which attempted to put lipstick on the crocodile".

He did not mention who was accompanying him to the meeting, setting the stage for a potential clash with the government.