Thursday, January 05, 2017

Acting Zimbabwe President Slates Pretentious Fifth Columnists
January 5, 2017
Lloyd Gumbo Senior Reporter
Zimbabwe Herald

Acting President Emmerson Mnangagwa has taken a swipe at people seeking to drive a wedge between him and President Mugabe by going around purporting to support him and zanu-pf, when in actual fact they are cat’s paws of hostile forces.

Such elements, the Acting President said, were actually against the party and President and their machinations were bound to fail.

In a statement last night, the Acting President also rapped the same elements whom he said had a well-documented history of disloyalty for claiming to support or act in the name of Zanu-PF, or of individuals in the party, while attacking the President.

“Against the background of many utterances and activities, all of them unsolicited but claiming or seeking association with my person, my family and or my position both in Zanu-PF and in Government, I want to make it clear that there are elements on the loose who talk and act as if they support me and or the party, Zanu-PF, when in fact they are being handled and managed from elsewhere by hostile forces,” he said.

“These elements are against the President, are against the party and its leadership. In other instances, they have a history of disloyalty to the party and hostility to the President, which is well- documented.

“It is preposterous to claim to support or act in the name of the party, or of individuals in Zanu-PF, while at the same time attacking President Robert Gabriel Mugabe, himself the undisputed leader of our party.

“Simply put, one cannot pretend to support the party while rejecting its President, attacking its core tenets, or undermining it’s tried and tested ways of conducting its business.”

The Acting President spoke in the wake of feverish tweets by Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology DevelopmentMinister Professor Jonathan Moyo’s who tried to give a sinister reading to a picture that features the Acting President holding a cup inscribed ‘‘Í am The Boss’’ while flanked by controversial businessman, Energy Mutodi.

It has since emerged that the mug in question was part of the numerous Christmas presents that the Acting President received for Christmas which he took to his rural home unopened.

When the Acting President and his family were opening the gifts around 10pm at night, Mutodi – who masqueraded as an MP – arrived, uninvited, and began posing for pictures which he posted on social media where they were latched onto by Prof Moyo who feverishly began tweeting to give them a sinister interpretation.

Prof Moyo even tried to link the picture of the mug to an article titled, ‘’the last days of Robert Mugabe’’ that was published by the British publication, The New Statesman on January 1.

‘‘Mug-saga can’t hide link of photo & this article!’’ Prof Moyo tweeted.

Writing on his Facebook page yesterday, Mutodi cast aspersions at President Mugabe, in addition to berating Prof Moyo for ‘’seeing treason in a tea cup’’.

Acting President Mnangagwa said if one did not support President Mugabe, it meant they did not support him as part of the same Presidium, which the President heads or the party.

‘’I go farther to say if you do not support the President who is my leader, it means you do not support me as part of the same Presidium which the President heads, or the Party.

“Equally, all those who are bent on drawing a wedge between me and my leader, Cde R.G Mugabe, are sure to fail. My association, belief and loyalty to the President and First Secretary of Zanu-PF, Cde R.G Mugabe, goes far back in history and got deepened and strengthened even further during the days of our armed struggle for national liberation.

“That loyalty and belief remains undiminished and is too deep to be shaken by cheap and contrived malice,’’ Cde Mnangagwa said.

Cde Mnangagwa has worked closely with President Mugabe for over 52 years from the liberation struggle and in both Zanu-PF and Government since 1980.

“Let it also be known that our party, Zanu-PF has one national spokesperson. It has one mouthpiece and established channels and platforms for communicating its views, ideas, policies and activities.

“Those who have either been expelled from the party, or who zealously designate themselves as its mouthpiece, are not, and cannot, speak for it. Kana wabva pana VaMugabe wabva paleadership yese yemusangano,” said Acting President Mnangagwa.

Prof Moyo, who has previously been expelled from Zanu-PF for indiscipline, has arrogated himself the role of de facto Party spokesman on Twitter where he continues posting about party and Government business against President Mugabe’s wise counsel to keep party and Government business off social media.

Counsel, President Mugabe repeated at the 16th Annual National People’s Conference in Masvingo in December last year but which has gone unheeded principally by Prof Moyo who is no stranger to hobnobbing with hostile forces as revealed by the whistleblower website, Wiki-Leaks.

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