Mliswa rubbishes Zanu-PF return talk

MERCURIAL former Zanu-PF Mashonaland West provincial chairman, Temba Mliswa, has dismissed media reports that he was itching to rejoin the ruling party as lies.

Some sections of the local Press suggested that the former Hurungwe West legislator could not wait to return to the ruling party, which chucked him out in humiliating fashion during last year's internal revolution which rocked the party – also claiming the scalp of former vice president, Joice Mujuru and a legion of her backers after they were accused of plotting to oust President Robert Mugabe from power.

Mliswa, who was actually the first person to be booted out of Zanu-PF party position in a vote of no confidence, distanced himself from the claims at a media briefing today alleging that he was misquoted.
 
He said he had no intention of rejoining the ruling party in its current state, as it is embroiled in a bitter factional wrangle in which party bigwigs are seeking to depopulate the political field in anticipation of a chance to replace President Mugabe.

Mliswa said he will not rejoin a party riddled by infighting and violence.

"The violence that I experienced as an independent candidate in the Hurungwe West by-election was more than enough to convince me that the Zanu-PF I was seeing was not the same with the one I joined as a young boy, and that I can never want to be associated with it," he said.

"Furthermore the factionalism that I was axed for is even worse than it was when I left, so why then would I jump from a frying pan into the fire. Even before I have even rejoined, they are already saying I belong to Vice President, Emmerson Mnangagwa's faction, so how would one join such a party so divided?" he charged.

Mnangagwa is reportedly battling to ward off relentless attempts by a shadowy group called Generation 40, which is said to be determined to thwart his presidential ambitions.

The razor tongued former MP sensationally claimed that Zanu-PF leaders were desperate to re-unite the movement using him after realising the mistakes of last year's purges.

"It is agenda setting by Zanu-PF using the State media to have people they fired back and it has to star with Temba, for everything starts with me. I was the first chairperson to be sacked now they can say if Temba is coming back, you can follow him."

He said he had had enough of the Zanu-PF violence and that his resolve never to associate with the revolutionary party, whose violence was vindicated in a damning report by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission following May's Hurungwe West by-election he lost to nemesis, Keith Guza, still subsisted.

Mliswa said he would instead concentrate on his Youth Advocacy for Democracy group which, according to him, was on a mission to help youths develop and participate in national issues without being used by senior politicians to perpetrate violence.