Bring it on, defiant Moyo tells war vets

Refusing to be intimidated … Minister Jonathan Moyo

“Nobody should make the mistake of thinking for a moment that they can block me from attending a Politburo meeting called and chaired by President Mugabe,” said Moyo.

“That can never happen. Only the President can stop anyone from attending any meeting he convenes or chairs.

“For anyone else to seek to do that under any pretext whatsoever will be tantamount to usurping the President’s prerogative and authority, something which is not different from a successionist attempt at a coup.”

Moyo was last week brutally attacked by presidential spokesman George Charamba who claimed to be speaking for President Robert Mugabe but the minister hit back, in the process drawing dire threats from war veterans.

The ex-fighters weighed on the side of Charamba, vowing to block Moyo from attending politburo meetings which are chaired by Mugabe.

But Moyo indicated he would not be cowed by threats the ex-fighters made in a statement they issued at the weekend.

He rejected Charamba’s claim that he was speaking for President Mugabe.

“For the record, I wish to state that it is false and insulting to His Excellency, the President, to claim that he sent George Charamba to savage his Cabinet Ministers and Politburo Members on public radio with all sorts of primitive insults such as ‘uneducated fools’; ‘little men’ among other unprintable epithets.

“Cabinet Ministers and Politburo members are not civil servants but are Presidential appointees with whom His Excellency the President has direct communication as their boss.

“In the same vein and for the avoidance of doubt, I reiterate that only a blithering idiot will say or believe that I am working with Joice Mujuru’s People First project which exists only in the media.”

The minister also drew attention to the fact that the statement was issued following a meeting which was held at Dzivarasekwa Presidential Guard Barracks.

“Apparently, the said statement was issued after a provincial meeting of ZNLWVA held on Saturday, 30 January, 2016 at Dzivarasekwa Presidential Guard Barracks which was chaired by John Guta and officiated by ZNLWVA National Chairman, Chris Mutsvangwa and its Secretary General Victor Matemadanda.

“It is extraordinary and indeed scary that the Dzivarasekwa Presidential Guard Barracks was used as a venue for a meeting whose purpose was to plot and threaten physical harm against a Cabinet Minister and Politburo member appointed to both offices by His Excellency, the President.”

Moyo added: “This was a gross and unacceptable abuse of a State facility.

“The fact that this unprecedented abuse of a State Barracks was officiated by Chris Mutsvangwa — a Cabinet Minister and Politburo member — not only raises eyebrows about else was plotted but also clearly demonstrates the extent to which Chris Mutsvangwa has gone rogue in pursuit of not just a factionalist agenda but also a desperate successionist plot.”

Abuse of government offices by Mutsvangwa was not new, Moyo continued.

“It should be remembered that ahead of the 2015 ZANU PF’s National People’s Conference, the same Chris Mutsvangwa availed his Ministerial office to a shadowy youth group from which it made violent statements barring Cdes Saviour Kasukuwere, Patrick Zhuwao and myself from setting foot at the National Heroes Acre.

“Abusing a Government Ministerial office for that outrageous purpose was bad enough but abusing Dzivarasekwa Presidential Guard Barracks in pursuit of a successionist plot is just going way too far.”