News / National
Mugabe loyalist Mutodi claims war vets seek new order
03 Mar 2016 at 00:37hrs | Views
President Robert Mugabe loyalist Energy Mutodi has claimed that the war veterans were seeking a new order after realising that Mugabe is now increasingly siding with a G40 faction that is linked to his wife in the ruling Zanu PF party.
He said war veterans are now determined to confront the President and demand that he appoints a Permanent Military Commission that will among other roles work as a checkmate to the Politburo.
Mutodi said according to sources, the war veterans have now realized that President Mugabe is no longer the only center of power in the party as much of the decisions in both government and the party are now being done by his wife.
"And instead of keeping it a secret that she is now the de-facto president, taking advantage of her husband's advanced age, the First Lady has severally exposed herself as having stolen powers from the President, telling a rally in Binga late last year that the two Vice Presidents took instructions from her and recently charging at Vice President Mnangagwa in Chiweshe where she insinuated that she had the powers to kick him out of office as she was the one who had appointed him in the first place," he said.
War veterans constitute the bulk of Zanu PF active support and are a key element in the party that has won elections amid a cloud of fear and intimidation as voters fail to understand why they should continue to cast their votes for the same person who continue to dampen their hopes for economic revival, freedom of the press and freedom of expression by its citizens, the right to life and the right to fair justice among other fundamental human rights.
"In Zimbabwe, anyone who opposes the leadership risks disappearing mysteriously, die in stage-managed accidents or expulsion from the party, arrest on trumped up charges or face serious rebuke and undressing in public. Even politburo members are lame ducks and can not say anything against the leader as they are not only handpicked by the President to seat in the party's highest decision making body in between congresses but are also seconded to executive posts in government on account of their loyalty and submissiveness to the President and his wife," Mutodi said.
"Although war veterans have finally been granted permission to hold their indaba at the City Sports Centre this Thursday and have successfully prevented the President from firing their leader and war veterans Minister Christopher Mutsvangwa, they continue to feel unsafe as the G40 faction has been given license to fire anyone opposed to it."
Speaking during his belated 92nd birthday celebrations held at the sacred monuments of Great Zimbabwe on Saturday, President Mugabe gave combative political commissar and G40 kingpin Saviour Kasukuwere the right to fire anyone opposed to the G40 faction, and telling war veterans to respectfully seek clarity from him on decisions that he makes rather than demonstrate against him.
Mugabe reportedly praised Youth deputy secretary Chipanga and defended him saying he did not threaten the freedom fighters with violence as had been reported in the media, much to the surprise of the gathering.
"The President also praised his nephew and other Politiburo members aligned to the G40 faction while sternly warning his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa's loyalists to desist from using the social media to expose him and his wife.
In the recent months, social media has been dominated by succession talk and ZANU PF factionalism chats with unemployed youths who have nothing to do spending the day scratching their phones and sending messages denigrating the First Lady and her G40 faction as well as the President who has been described as a man who has become obsessed with power and wanting to die in office at all cost," Mutodi said.
"In some social media posts, the youths do not hide their excitement for the possibility of President Mugabe being succeeded by his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa, posting their pictures while clad in Team Lacoste regalia and exhibiting an invincible crocodile in some posts in resemblance of the powerful Vice President's reptile totem."
He said at the age of 92, Zanu PF youths are now are asking what vision President Mugabe still has that continue to compel him to stay in power after more than 35 years in office and having amassed a lot of wealth.
"It is now apparent that the President is benefitting from factionalism in his party as he ultimately plays a unifying role and projects himself as the only leader capable of holding the party together," he said.
"At the Masvingo birthday bash, bootlickers stampeded to outperform each other, singing praises of President Mugabe and his wife Grace with school children reciting poems glorifying him and wishing him many more years.
At the end of the colorful event, poor women who had also graced the occasion could be seen picking up left overs supposedly to take home something to feed starving children back home."
The vibrant politician said according to the war veterans leader Christopher Mutsvangwa, the former freedom fighters now want a Permanent Military Commission to be put in place in order to stop the party from disintegrating further due to the on-going thoughtless expulsions and suspensions of party members.
"The PMC he said is not a new thing from the blues as it exists in China's Communist Party while the Americans term it the Joint Chiefs of Staff adding that such a set up exists in every other country that went through a revolution.
The general understanding therefore is that since Zimbabwe got its independence not only through negotiations by political leaders but also through human sacrifices in the war, it is unimaginable for those who did not participate in the war to disrespect the freedom fighters let alone unleash police dogs and tear gas at them when they seek non-violent engagement with their leaders," he said.
"There are also anxious expectations that President Mugabe will announce his retirement from active politics on time before the elections in 2018 so as to preserve the little that now remains of his once glamorous legacy.
He is the only one among African leaders who has managed to challenge the British and the Americans to re-think about their perceptions of the black race and the need for these two powerful countries to treat Africans as partners and not as slaves going into the future."
"He is also credited with giving land to landless blacks in Zimbabwe and also promoting education, gender equality and the preservation of African cultural heritage."
Mutodi said however, if he continues to pay no attention to succession issues, he risks losing respect from the young generation of Zimbabweans who now view him as a stumbling block to progress and development due to economic mismanagement, poor policies and rampant public sector corruption.
Energy Mutodi is a Doctor of Business Administration degree student at the University of Cape Town. He also studies Law at the University of Zimbabwe. He did a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geography and War Studies at the same university, graduating in 2001 and in 2015, he completed his Masters degree in Business Administration. He is a member of Zanu PF.
He said war veterans are now determined to confront the President and demand that he appoints a Permanent Military Commission that will among other roles work as a checkmate to the Politburo.
Mutodi said according to sources, the war veterans have now realized that President Mugabe is no longer the only center of power in the party as much of the decisions in both government and the party are now being done by his wife.
"And instead of keeping it a secret that she is now the de-facto president, taking advantage of her husband's advanced age, the First Lady has severally exposed herself as having stolen powers from the President, telling a rally in Binga late last year that the two Vice Presidents took instructions from her and recently charging at Vice President Mnangagwa in Chiweshe where she insinuated that she had the powers to kick him out of office as she was the one who had appointed him in the first place," he said.
War veterans constitute the bulk of Zanu PF active support and are a key element in the party that has won elections amid a cloud of fear and intimidation as voters fail to understand why they should continue to cast their votes for the same person who continue to dampen their hopes for economic revival, freedom of the press and freedom of expression by its citizens, the right to life and the right to fair justice among other fundamental human rights.
"In Zimbabwe, anyone who opposes the leadership risks disappearing mysteriously, die in stage-managed accidents or expulsion from the party, arrest on trumped up charges or face serious rebuke and undressing in public. Even politburo members are lame ducks and can not say anything against the leader as they are not only handpicked by the President to seat in the party's highest decision making body in between congresses but are also seconded to executive posts in government on account of their loyalty and submissiveness to the President and his wife," Mutodi said.
"Although war veterans have finally been granted permission to hold their indaba at the City Sports Centre this Thursday and have successfully prevented the President from firing their leader and war veterans Minister Christopher Mutsvangwa, they continue to feel unsafe as the G40 faction has been given license to fire anyone opposed to it."
Speaking during his belated 92nd birthday celebrations held at the sacred monuments of Great Zimbabwe on Saturday, President Mugabe gave combative political commissar and G40 kingpin Saviour Kasukuwere the right to fire anyone opposed to the G40 faction, and telling war veterans to respectfully seek clarity from him on decisions that he makes rather than demonstrate against him.
Mugabe reportedly praised Youth deputy secretary Chipanga and defended him saying he did not threaten the freedom fighters with violence as had been reported in the media, much to the surprise of the gathering.
"The President also praised his nephew and other Politiburo members aligned to the G40 faction while sternly warning his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa's loyalists to desist from using the social media to expose him and his wife.
In the recent months, social media has been dominated by succession talk and ZANU PF factionalism chats with unemployed youths who have nothing to do spending the day scratching their phones and sending messages denigrating the First Lady and her G40 faction as well as the President who has been described as a man who has become obsessed with power and wanting to die in office at all cost," Mutodi said.
He said at the age of 92, Zanu PF youths are now are asking what vision President Mugabe still has that continue to compel him to stay in power after more than 35 years in office and having amassed a lot of wealth.
"It is now apparent that the President is benefitting from factionalism in his party as he ultimately plays a unifying role and projects himself as the only leader capable of holding the party together," he said.
"At the Masvingo birthday bash, bootlickers stampeded to outperform each other, singing praises of President Mugabe and his wife Grace with school children reciting poems glorifying him and wishing him many more years.
At the end of the colorful event, poor women who had also graced the occasion could be seen picking up left overs supposedly to take home something to feed starving children back home."
The vibrant politician said according to the war veterans leader Christopher Mutsvangwa, the former freedom fighters now want a Permanent Military Commission to be put in place in order to stop the party from disintegrating further due to the on-going thoughtless expulsions and suspensions of party members.
"The PMC he said is not a new thing from the blues as it exists in China's Communist Party while the Americans term it the Joint Chiefs of Staff adding that such a set up exists in every other country that went through a revolution.
The general understanding therefore is that since Zimbabwe got its independence not only through negotiations by political leaders but also through human sacrifices in the war, it is unimaginable for those who did not participate in the war to disrespect the freedom fighters let alone unleash police dogs and tear gas at them when they seek non-violent engagement with their leaders," he said.
"There are also anxious expectations that President Mugabe will announce his retirement from active politics on time before the elections in 2018 so as to preserve the little that now remains of his once glamorous legacy.
He is the only one among African leaders who has managed to challenge the British and the Americans to re-think about their perceptions of the black race and the need for these two powerful countries to treat Africans as partners and not as slaves going into the future."
"He is also credited with giving land to landless blacks in Zimbabwe and also promoting education, gender equality and the preservation of African cultural heritage."
Mutodi said however, if he continues to pay no attention to succession issues, he risks losing respect from the young generation of Zimbabweans who now view him as a stumbling block to progress and development due to economic mismanagement, poor policies and rampant public sector corruption.
Energy Mutodi is a Doctor of Business Administration degree student at the University of Cape Town. He also studies Law at the University of Zimbabwe. He did a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geography and War Studies at the same university, graduating in 2001 and in 2015, he completed his Masters degree in Business Administration. He is a member of Zanu PF.
Source - Byo24News
