Kasukuwere wants 'endless' mandate for Mugabe to rule Zimbabwe

Zanu-PF national commissar Saviour Kasukuwere has said President Robert Mugabe should be given an "endless" mandate to lead Zimbabwe as he joined the bandwagon of those bootlicking the 91-year-old politician.

Kasukuwere described Mugabe as "God-given" during a Zanu-PF Manicaland provincial coordination committee meeting in Mutare last week.

He said Zimbabweans must pray for Mugabe to ensure that he carried his "God-given" mandate endlessly.

"We should know that President Mugabe is God-given and those trying to mislead you in not following him are more like saying you should pray to idols. We should not be willing tools in destabilising the party and the nation at large," he said.

"I want to remind those that are power-hungry that there is no vacancy in the Presidium. Let President Mugabe do his work freely because we agreed as Zimbabweans to give him a new mandate in 2013.

As a party, we repeated that again during our last December 6th National People's Congress and we should always give him more mandates to rule Zimbabwe."

Kasukuwere said youths should not be used to try to topple Mugabe.

"You should not be used by individuals for selfish gains because of your love for money. Some of you were part of the infamous Tsholotsho meeting and you were also part of the gammatox crusade, why?" he asked.

"We have one leader in President Mugabe and why should we follow individuals? There are no godfathers in politics. Unity is far better than divisions."

Kasukuwere expressed concern at Zanu-PF divisions in Manicaland.

"We do not want to keep Zanu-PF Manicaland divided. Let us bury our differences and reunite. Zanu PF is for all of us. It is not a party for the Nyati clan only," he added in an apparent reference to former secretary for administration, Didymus Mutasa.

He called on the province to respect the new Manicaland leadership in Manicaland led by Oppah Muchinguri, who led the ouster of Mutasa and former Vice-President Joice Mujuru.

"We want the party to change focus. We must not waste time looking for faults or fighting. I came to Manicaland to build the party, not to remove anyone from their positions," Kasukuwere said. "I know word doing rounds was that Kasukuwere was coming to dissolve the provincial structures. I came to Manicaland to unite the party."

Zanu-PF officials have been falling over each other, bootlicking and praise-singing Mugabe after the December congress which saw the purging of many of those perceived to be aligned to Mujuru.