Grace Mugabe splits Mutinhiri's NPF

THE National Patriotic Front (NPF)- a political project linked to former president Mr Robert Mugabe and his wife Grace - has officially split, a few days before the nomination court sits for harmonised elections set for July 30.

The removal of Mr Mugabe from office last November through Operation Restore Legacy saw the G40 cabal, which had coalesced around his wife, transforming into the NPF.

Senior NPF members include Brigadier-General (Retired) Ambrose Mutinhiri, Professor Jonathan Moyo, Mr Patrick Zhuwao, Mr Saviour Kasukuwere and Mr Jealousy Mawarire.

Mr Kasukuwere, who, like Prof Moyo and Zhuwao, was in self-imposed exile, returned to Zimbabwe last month and announced he was quitting politics.

A faction led by Mr Mawarire called for a press conference at the Media Centre in Harare yesterday morning to announce it had recalled Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri as the NPF interim leader.

Mr Mawarire said Mrs Eunice Sandi Moyo had been appointed NPF interim leader adding that they were going into a coalition with the MDC Alliance.

A few hours later, Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri addressed a press conference at which he insisted he was the NPF interim president and founder of the political outfit, who could not be dismissed by unelected people.

Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri announced that the NPF would hold consultative meetings to elect a substantive national executive.
"The processes that replaced Mugabe and others were wrong in my view, I disagreed," said Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri.

"I could no longer continue to subscribe to Zanu-PF and at the same time had to resign from Parliament because I was there on a Zanu-PF ticket," he said.

"I consulted with former president Mugabe who said to me if you have the guts, go ahead. So myself and others, we decided to form the NPF, of which I am the founding president and it is registered as such by ZEC."

Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri said Mr Mawarire and his group, that includes the faction's interim leader Mrs Sandi Moyo, had expelled themselves from the party by virtue of their conduct.

He said the NPF had not yet made a decision on whether to join the MDC Alliance.

He castigated Mawarire and his camp for publicly supporting MDC Alliance presidential candidate Mr Nelson Chamisa during last Tuesday's demonstration in Harare without consulting fellow party members.

"NPF is open to join any of these alliances but has not taken a position yet towards that," he said.

"There are people who have gone out of their way to chant slogans of other political parties. Those have done it on their own. They have not been sanctioned by NPF. We believe we are a people's party and such a decision like joining alliances cannot be done without the party holding wide-ranging consultations."

He said as it stands the NPF leadership had not been elected.

Earlier on Mr Mawarire announced the NPF had fired Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri and that they were going into a coalition with the MDC Alliance ahead of the harmonised elections set for July 30.

Both Mr Mawarire and Mrs Moyo addressed the press conference on the party's resolutions.

Mr Mawarire said the party resolved to recall Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri from his current position for teaming up with a former Cabinet minister to hire thugs to disrupt an NFEC meeting at the Margolis Resort in Harare on Thursday.

"The NFEC meeting also noted that Mutinhiri's alliance with the former Cabinet minister points to a deliberate ploy to disrupt the NPF activities especially the ongoing coalition talks."

He said the decision to recall Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri was unanimously endorsed by the NFEC members present at the meeting.

Mr Mawarire said the NPF was expected to conclude an electoral pact with the MDC Alliance by Monday next week, saying the issue of parliamentary seats to be allocated to the party was a done deal.

Mrs Moyo said Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri was recalled after he refused to work together with other founding members.

She said Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri wanted to set up his own parallel structures.

"He did not want to work with us. He does not attend meetings. We send him communication but he does not respond. Now we do not know whether he had come to destabilise the party or what."