Mutodi should stop fanning factionalism in ZANU PF

ZANU PF member, Energy Mutodi is on record calling on President Mugabe to pave way for his preferred politician, Vice President Emerson Mnangagwa to take over the Presidency.  In a recent post on his Facebook page, Mutodi actually insulted the President by referring to him as a despot who had ruled the country with an iron fist.

Mutodi went further to call on President Mugabe to pave way for VP Mnangagwa, on the basis that "only Mnangagwa will guarantee Mugabe's safety after leaving office". He demanded that "Mugabe must retire. What we must be discussing now is how to share power in ZANU PF post-Mugabe."

It is not clear on whose behalf Mutodi is making these outrageous claims. The musician-cum-businessman has never been voted into any public political office. It therefore boggles the mind as to who he was speaking on behalf of when he made these demands.  It is a fact that President Mugabe, in his well-known age, was voted into office by ZANU PF members and other ordinary Zimbabweans for a full five year term which is set to expire in 2018. The President has every right to complete the term as per the expectations of the voters and the Constitution. This is regardless of the wishes of Mutodi and his like-minded politicians.

Mutodi makes an insinuation that President Mugabe would need guarantees of safety and protection from VP Mnangagwa. We have not heard the VP appointing Mutodi as his spokesperson. If these remarks are calculated to create friction between President Mugabe and the VP, then the scheme is bound to fail.

Mutodi is swimming in dangerous waters. Is he insinuating that he is aware of criminal charges to be filed against President Mugabe the moment he leaves office, which charges would then require protection from the Vice President?

If Mutodi was a genuine ZANU PF member, he would understand the internal processes that should be followed in handling the Party's leadership issues. The ZANU PF Constitution provides for a Congress to consider changes to the party leadership. That process was done in 2014 where President Mugabe got a new mandate that runs until 2019.

It is preposterous for Mutodi to claim that ZANU PF members should be discussing on how to share power in a post-Mugabe era. Who should be sharing what power? It is common cause that political power and legitimacy to govern is drawn from the electorate through the electoral process. Has Mutodi ever won any electoral contest to earn the right to insult tried and tested politicians who have been winning elections since Independence?

 Mutodi is causing irreparable damage to his political interests through his not well thought-out remarks He should be advised to seek political legitimacy from the electorate through working to address the needs of the common man than to harp on political castles in the air.

It is one thing to be an aspiring politician and another to seek to be a kingmaker in these treacherous political waters. Mutodi needs to bite what he can chew than to choke himself. The most we heard about Mutodi was his alleged swindling of thousands of dollars of struggling civil servants contributions towards shelter for their children. Today he is taking the whole country for granted through his misplaced ambitions.

ZANU PF members should be united as they approach the crucial 2018 elections. It is certainly true that his utterances do not promote unity within the revolutionary party. The President has on several occasions called for introspection and discipline among ZANU PF members in the way they handle internal issues. President Mugabe has warned members against using the social media to resolve ZANU PF internal issues. That warning still stands.  
 
Mutodi should be wary of opposition newspapers that could be propelling divisions within ZANU PF through giving voice to his divisive views. These newspapers could be setting an evil agenda in pursuit of regime change.