IN A surprising development, expelled former Zanu-PF youth leader Godfrey Tsenengamu, pictured, has sensationally claimed that some ruling party bigwigs are involved in the organisation of the planned July 31 mass protests against the government.
\nThis comes as Zanu-PF is once again beset with ugly factional, tribal and succession wars \u2014 which split the former liberation movement in the middle in the last few years in power of the late former President Robert Mugabe.<\/p>\n
It also comes as the opposition and pro-democracy groups are planning to roll out massive demos against President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government, over the worsening local economic crisis and the Zanu-PF leader\u2019s perceived reluctance to hold much-needed dialogue with the opposition and civic society.<\/p>\n
Speaking in an interview with the Daily News yesterday, Tsenengamu \u2013 who now leads the anti-graft pressure group Front for Economic Emancipation in Zimbabwe (FEEZ) \u2013 claimed that he was working with some disgruntled Zanu-PF bigwigs in mobilising for the month-end demonstrations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole nation is in agreement against what the looters are doing. They will be surprised that on July 31, the majority of Zanu-PF members are going to be part of the protest against corruption.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are talking with some senior Zanu-PF members. Some are even \u2026 telling us that they are tired of corruption \u2026 we are working with them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Asked to name some of the officials involved, Tsenengamu would only say: \u201cWait and see how many people are going to come out from Zanu-PF who will be supporting this protest.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many. This is not about factions, it\u2019s about people who are victims of corruption,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Since his expulsion from Zanu-PF, over the allegations of corruption that he made against some of the party\u2019s bigwigs, Tsenengamu has become an arch critic of Mnangagwa and his government.<\/p>\n
Speaking to the Daily News\u2019 sister publication, the Daily News On Sunday in an exclusive interview over the weekend, Tsenengamu also said that it was time for Mnangagwa to show leadership and deliver on his electoral promises.<\/p>\n
He said the Zanu-PF leader\u2019s performance since taking over from Mugabe via a popular military intervention in November 2017, had been hugely underwhelming.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we say he is not in charge, then that means he is a weak leader and maybe a placeholder. And if that is the case, then it means that he is unfit for his position.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we also say that he is being misled by alleged lieutenants, then it also means that he is not what we thought and believed him to be,\u201d Tsenengamu further told the Daily News On Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow a whole president could be misled when he has all the apparatus at his disposal \u2026 think of the intelligence services in the defence, CIO and police. Are they all misleading him?\u201d he asked rhetorically.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has a whole Cabinet, the Presidential Advisory Council (PAC) \u2026 politburo, central committee and the Political Actors Dialogue \u2026 all there to advise him and you still suggest that he is being misled. Why?<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want the repeat of the Mugabe scenario where everyone would say the president is right but those around him are the bad ones. No,\u201d Tsenengamu further told the Daily News On Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf his lieutenants are misleading him and he doesn\u2019t see that, then he does not deserve the position. I would not want to apportion blame on those without the mandate to lead and govern.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is the president and the chief executive of this country. He must just pull up his socks,\u201d the FEEZ boss further told the Daily News On Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am of the opinion that he must start listening to advice. Of late, many in the corridors of power have been complaining that he is not a good listener despite what he pretends to be when in public.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he wants other people to work with him and help him achieve, then he must also be ready to take advice,\u201d Tsenengamu added.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Zanu-PF named Tsenengamu as being part of the people it accused of trying to engineer Mnangagwa\u2019s ouster through the planned July 31 mass protests.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Monday, Zanu-PF secretary for administration Obert Mpofu said Tsenengamu was one of the people who allegedly wanted to destabilise the nation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe party is aware of the planned mass protests which are being organised by MDC Alliance renegades, Tajamuka, Front for Economic Emancipation in Zimbabwe (FEEZ) led by the ex-party youth commissar Godfrey Tsenengamu and other media protagonists.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur security department should constantly alert us of this clear present danger of this unholy alliance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also take note and welcome the Prosecutor-General\u2019s efforts for the extradition of Jonathan Moyo from Kenya as he is the figment of the external demonisation of leadership, exhorting mass uprising in the country,\u201d Mpofu said.<\/p>\n
However, a defiant Tsenengamu said yesterday that he was not deterred by Zanu-PF\u2019s threats.<\/p>\n
\u201cTargeting individuals or their organisations will not help them in any way. There is a national consensus on the need to act together as a people against corruption.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooting and economic mismanagement have resulted in citizens wallowing in poverty. Targeting the messenger won\u2019t stop the message.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Mpofu said we are anti-establishment, then corruption is another name for Zanu-PF because we are anti-corruption. They are just trying to find ground to intimidate people,\u201d Tsenengamu further told the Daily News.<\/p>\n
This comes as Mnangagwa and his under pressure administration are struggling to unshackle the country\u2019s economy from its current crisis which has triggered fears of a return to the horror situation of 2008.<\/p>\n
Despite the 77-year-old Zanu-PF leader having been feted like a king when he took over from the late Mugabe, via a widely supported military coup in November 2017, Mnangagwa and his government have found the task of repairing the country\u2019s broken economy very tough.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the organisers of the July 31 protests are confident that they will garner large crowds in the planned mass actions.<\/p>\n
Transform Zimbabwe leader, Jacob Ngarivhume \u2014 who is the main organiser of the planned protests \u2014 said yesterday that he had held talks with various groups to persuade them to join the demos.<\/p>\n
Among those he said he had met were Tsenengamu, Mnangagwa\u2019s adviser Shingi Munyeza and opposition figures that include Ian Makone and Elton Mangoma.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe met on Monday to engage leaders and seek buy-in for the nationwide demonstration, and we got it.
\n\u201cThe consultation process is still on-going and I am having a meeting with the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) secretary-general Raymond Majongwe and the Zimbabwe Teachers Association (Zimta) \u2026 to seek their buy-in as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have already received the support of nurses\u2019 unions who have said they want to join the demonstration which will go beyond corruption, to include the need for national dialogue, as well as paying civil servants in US dollars,\u201d Ngarivhume said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
IN A surprising development, expelled former Zanu-PF youth leader Godfrey Tsenengamu, pictured, has sensationally claimed that some ruling party bigwigs are involved in the organisation of the planned July 31 mass protests against the government. This comes as Zanu-PF is once again beset with ugly factional, tribal and succession wars \u2014 which split the former […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":15830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[38,34],"class_list":{"0":"post-25113","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-parties","9":"tag-zanu-pf","10":"tag-emmerson-mnangagwa"},"yoast_head":"\n