'Stop Jonathan Moyo,' says Mutasa

Fireworks are expected at today's Zanu-PF politburo meeting in Harare as the ruling party's factional and succession wars continue to escalate.

In the latest instalment of the ugly infighting ahead of the crucial meeting, and the party's make-or-break elective congress scheduled for early December, State security minister and Zanu-PF secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa, says Information Minister Jonathan Moyo has become a national security threat.

Mutasa - who had chosen to keep quiet about the party's ugly infighting for the past few weeks - told the Daily News in an interview yesterday that Moyo was at the heart of the besmirching of the names of the country's top leadership, particularly embattled Vice President Joice Mujuru, a situation that was threatening national security.

He said Moyo was creating anarchy, mainly through his alleged abuse of State media, which was in turn creating chaos within the country's security apparatus.

"As a matter of fact, they (security agencies) now do not understand what Jonathan nemanewspapers ake (Moyo and his newspapers) are doing.

"And there is a possibility that we shall start investigating him thoroughly because zviri kuitika munyika muno (what is happening in this country) currently hazvisiri zvinhu kwazvo, zvinoputsa nyika zvakatungamirirwa naJonathan (all these things will destroy the country and being led by Jonathan).

"So, zvaaisa muHerald ndizvo zvandinoti manyepo ekugumisisa (What he has put in The Herald are lies of the highest order), the highest level of lying and I do not really think that those lies are worth the paper on which they are written," Mutasa said ominously.

Efforts to get a comment from Moyo yesterday, including telephone calls and messages to his mobile phone, were unsuccessful.

Mutasa's claims come in the wake of continuing allegations in State-controlled media that he and ousted party spokesperson Rugare Gumbo, among others, are working with Mujuru in a multi-pronged strategy to oust and assassinate President Robert Mugabe.

In yesterday's edition of The Herald, the daily also claimed that the purported multi-pronged plots against the long-ruling nonagenarian included the alleged manipulation of party structures by Mutasa to enhance Mujuru's chances of victory at the forthcoming congress.

But Mutasa flatly dismissed all the allegations as "the highest level of lying", perpetrated by Moyo, whom he in turn accused of seeking to destroy Zanu-PF from within.

He also said Zimbabwe's security apparatus was one of the best in the world and would have picked up any such alleged treasonous plans by him and others if they existed for real.

He said his mandate as minister responsible for State security included providing security to the country's leadership, including the First Family and Mujuru.

Mutasa added that contrary to Moyo's allegations that were being made via State media, it was the Information minister who was on record as saying that it was not possible to destroy the ruling party from outside - and had thus allegedly set himself on a mission to do the job from within.

"That is my job, to provide security to leadership. I cannot be plotting with them and when I talk to the VP, we will not be plotting. I will be doing my job in accordance with my mandate.

"There has been allegations that Jonathan works with the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and there are articles he wrote to the effect that he wants to destroy Zanu-PF from within and I believe that is what he is doing," Mutasa said.

The veteran politician expressed his dismay with the current state of affairs in the party, which is witnessing unprecedented chaos,

including the passing of multiple and confusing votes of no confidence in all but one of Zanu-PF's 10 provincial chairpersons, mostly on contrived allegations of fanning factionalism.

Even here, Mutasa again heaped all the blame at the door of Moyo saying: "It's horrifying particularly what Jonathan is doing. He should just stop it as Amai (Grace Mugabe) says. He should stop it because he is the author of all that is happening in the party now".

The State media has been on a crusade to vilify all perceived allies of Mujuru in the past few months, in a propaganda war that analysts say has reached comical proportions.

Analysts also say as the Zanu-PF politburo meets again in Harare tomorrow, Mugabe is under mounting pressure to stop the ruling party from imploding altogether as its factional and succession wars turn increasingly violent and messier by the day.

So bad is the climate within the party, and the country by extension, that one senior politburo member asked rhetorically on Thursday, "Who is in charge?" when canvassed for a comment regarding the state and health of the party ahead of the key but potentially stormy meeting.

"I hate to admit it but we are currently a rudderless party characterised by serious confusion and flux. There is neither discipline, direction nor unity of purpose at both party and government level.

"But even more damning perhaps, who is in charge?" the senior politburo member asked, alluding to the many competing centres of power in the divided party that include the excitable First Lady Grace Mugabe, party hardliners and a faction of war veterans.

The party's ugly infighting has since crystallised into Mujuru being accused by State media and her party enemies of being involved in a sensational plot to assassinate Mugabe.