Mugabe scoffs at Mutasa's court bid

PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday scoffed at former Zanu-PF secretary for Administration Didymus Mutasa's intention to sue the revolutionary party over the outcome of the 6th National People's Congress, saying his attempts would come to naught.

Addressing a bumper crowd that thronged the Harare International Airport to welcome him from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the President said Mutasa's attempts would be abortive.

Mutasa - after failing to land a Central Committee position in Makoni Central District and automatically leaving him ineligible for a Politburo post - is leading a charge to sue Zanu-PF so that he and other members of the Mujuru cabal can be reinstated to their former positions in the party and Government.

The putchist cabal, ousted for plotting to depose President Mugabe, claims the adoption of amendments made to the party's constitution at the 6th National People's Congress and their removal from office were unprocedural.

President Mugabe said Mutasa was finding it difficult to concede that he was no longer a leader in the party and Government.

"Zvemeduwo mumusangano makangoitawo mapenzi nevamwe vanorotomoka, hazvingashaikwe munyika izvozvo (In our party there emerged some lunatics who just shoot off their mouths but such people are found in society)," he said.

"Saka hapana kwavanosvika nazvo. Murume mukuru mumusangano, watonga makore nemakore uchishanda uri pamusoro wongoti pfichu ahh ndakuda kuti vakuru veZanu vatongwe.

"Iwe nekupfichuka kwako nekuti wakaruza watozviita ndiwe mukuru ava vose vamwe vakahwina ndovanosungirwa kutongwa kuti vakakurambirei? Iwe dare raunoda riri dare rako rekuzvisarudzira (The efforts will come to naught. How can such a senior party member, who spent years in leadership just jump up to say I want to sue the party leadership? Just because you lost, you think you are superior to everyone else who won? In your own court)?"

President Mugabe described as "rubbish" the move by Mutasa to write to South African President Jacob Zuma, Sadc and the African Union making wild claims that the Congress was a nullity.

He said he had not come across the purported correspondence at either organisation.

He said instead Mutasa should have been remorseful, conceded defeat and sought advice from other party cadres to rejuvenate his waning career.

"We never heard anything about his letters because it is just rubbish," President Mugabe said.

"He should have approached others and asked where he went wrong and sought ways of reviving himself.

"That is how it is in the party, if you lose now you must work hard so tomorrow you can win.

"Do not question why people have rejected you because you lose elections because of your deeds."

Outsiders, the President said, had no role to play in internal party issues.

Turning to journalists, President Mugabe urged them to be developmental in their reportage and not to write false stories.

He said the media had a role to play in nation building and economic development.

"Do not be writers who always criticise. When they (journalists) fail to get something to write they look for non-existing issues. We do not want that.

"We want the truth, teaching our people the truth. I appeal to you journalists to be people with knowledge of policies happening in various countries.

"Reporting on the progress that we achieve and this must constitute new steps for us to make further progress until we achieve our objectives. That is what we want."