Opinion / Columnist
Mujuru, power thirsty colleagues to tear ZimPF apart
24 May 2016 at 05:00hrs | Views
We hear things are not okay in Joice Mujuru's Zimbabwe People First (ZimPF) camp, with reports indicating that the over-ambitious Didymus Mutasa has relapsed to his infamous power seeking behaviour.
Those born in my generation would attest that we grew up hearing that Mutasa had hilariously declared from the onset of his indecorous political career that he would want to become the Vice President of this country, no matter the leadership matrix in ZANU PF.
His insatiable hunger for power also became undeniably translucent during his last days in ZANU PF, when he belligerently boasted against all odds that he wanted to take over the party's Chairmanship.
Mutasa was Secretary General then.
With such a poignant history of wrestling for power, it came as no surprise that Mutasa later ganged up with other power hungry characters such as Joice Mujuru and her cabal and plotted to unconstitutionally grab power from President Robert Mugabe.
Fortunately the cabal was caught in its treasonous tracks and was unceremoniously expelled from ZANU PF in 2014, only to regroup and form what they termed ZimPF.
For those who knew Mutasa and crew for their unquenchable thirst for power, it was a given that with the passing of time, the new political entity would be blighted by power conflicts, for it was obvious that leopards such as Mutasa would never lose their spots.
True to measured expectations, we now hear reports that ZimPF has been afflicted by shattering power struggles as Mutasa, Bright Matonga and Sylvester Nguni wrestle to unseat each other and also to topple Mujuru.
It was obvious that Mutasa, who held the post of Secretary for Administration in ZANU PF but found himself openly demoted to the uninspiring rank of 'elder' in ZimPF, would somehow unfurl his true colours to fight for a more powerful position in the new political entity.
Nonetheless, the elderly politician missed the fact that his dark political past, characterised by his personal use of violence and sometimes murder to pummel his opponents to submission, is now a stark political liability to his colleagues, which they cannot accommodate without backlash from the electorate.
To ZimPF's partners from western countries, the civil society sector and vocal opposition political activists such as Jealous Mawarire, Mutasa is viewed as a corrosive character that should be tucked away from the public glare as his political misdemeanours are seen as likely to chip away the assumed integrity of the newly created party.
This became a slap in the face of the over-ambitious Mutasa who had seen himself positioned at the apex of that party due to his purported political seniority.
Notably, Mujuru is acceding to the unrelenting pressure from his other political partners and is seemingly ready to sideline Mutasa and eventually ditch him from any political designs in ZimPF.
Mutasa is seeing this as the greatest betrayal of all time and would fight tooth and nail to propel himself from the dungeons of his 'eldership' to the higher echelons of that party.
However, even if Mujuru is to ditch Mutasa, it appears the ZimPF project would soon come to naught as other ever-scheming characters such as Mujuru herself, Nguni, Matonga and other power hungry cabal members are sure to put the party asunder.
No one else but the uninhibited power hungry ZimPF officials would destroy the party before its first political steps.
It is only therefore convenient and misleading for the ZimPF spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo, to claim that some shadowy forces have infiltrated them, leading to the current power wrangles in that party.
The talk of infiltration either by Government or by its supposed agents is a tired and puerile political ploy that has been overused by the MDC-T and now adopted by ZimPF.
All opposition political parties would like to blame Government for their self-inflicted misfortunes and inherent ideological deficiencies.
It is with this in my mind that we would not hesitate to write the obituary for ZimPF, for it will definitely buckle under the weight of over-ambitious and ever-scheming power thirsty characters such Mutasa and crew.
Those born in my generation would attest that we grew up hearing that Mutasa had hilariously declared from the onset of his indecorous political career that he would want to become the Vice President of this country, no matter the leadership matrix in ZANU PF.
His insatiable hunger for power also became undeniably translucent during his last days in ZANU PF, when he belligerently boasted against all odds that he wanted to take over the party's Chairmanship.
Mutasa was Secretary General then.
With such a poignant history of wrestling for power, it came as no surprise that Mutasa later ganged up with other power hungry characters such as Joice Mujuru and her cabal and plotted to unconstitutionally grab power from President Robert Mugabe.
Fortunately the cabal was caught in its treasonous tracks and was unceremoniously expelled from ZANU PF in 2014, only to regroup and form what they termed ZimPF.
For those who knew Mutasa and crew for their unquenchable thirst for power, it was a given that with the passing of time, the new political entity would be blighted by power conflicts, for it was obvious that leopards such as Mutasa would never lose their spots.
True to measured expectations, we now hear reports that ZimPF has been afflicted by shattering power struggles as Mutasa, Bright Matonga and Sylvester Nguni wrestle to unseat each other and also to topple Mujuru.
It was obvious that Mutasa, who held the post of Secretary for Administration in ZANU PF but found himself openly demoted to the uninspiring rank of 'elder' in ZimPF, would somehow unfurl his true colours to fight for a more powerful position in the new political entity.
Nonetheless, the elderly politician missed the fact that his dark political past, characterised by his personal use of violence and sometimes murder to pummel his opponents to submission, is now a stark political liability to his colleagues, which they cannot accommodate without backlash from the electorate.
To ZimPF's partners from western countries, the civil society sector and vocal opposition political activists such as Jealous Mawarire, Mutasa is viewed as a corrosive character that should be tucked away from the public glare as his political misdemeanours are seen as likely to chip away the assumed integrity of the newly created party.
This became a slap in the face of the over-ambitious Mutasa who had seen himself positioned at the apex of that party due to his purported political seniority.
Notably, Mujuru is acceding to the unrelenting pressure from his other political partners and is seemingly ready to sideline Mutasa and eventually ditch him from any political designs in ZimPF.
Mutasa is seeing this as the greatest betrayal of all time and would fight tooth and nail to propel himself from the dungeons of his 'eldership' to the higher echelons of that party.
However, even if Mujuru is to ditch Mutasa, it appears the ZimPF project would soon come to naught as other ever-scheming characters such as Mujuru herself, Nguni, Matonga and other power hungry cabal members are sure to put the party asunder.
No one else but the uninhibited power hungry ZimPF officials would destroy the party before its first political steps.
It is only therefore convenient and misleading for the ZimPF spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo, to claim that some shadowy forces have infiltrated them, leading to the current power wrangles in that party.
The talk of infiltration either by Government or by its supposed agents is a tired and puerile political ploy that has been overused by the MDC-T and now adopted by ZimPF.
All opposition political parties would like to blame Government for their self-inflicted misfortunes and inherent ideological deficiencies.
It is with this in my mind that we would not hesitate to write the obituary for ZimPF, for it will definitely buckle under the weight of over-ambitious and ever-scheming power thirsty characters such Mutasa and crew.
Source - Indrah Zvenyika
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