“We have our own Vice President, Mai Mujuru, who will succeed President Mugabe,” declared Mutasa, the current Minister of State for Presidential Affairs who has also served in the State Security portfolio.
He made the revelation when he was asked about swelling reports that Simba Makoni, leader of Mavambo/Kusile/Dawn, was set to bounce back in Zanu (PF) as a possible replacement for Mugabe.
According to an August 2011 Wikileaks item, Dumiso Dabengwa, a former senior Zanu (PF) member who now leads a revived Zapu party after briefly working with Makoni in MKD, indicated to the US Embassy in Harare that it was likely that the former Finance Minister would return to Zanu (PF).
Mutasa dismissed Dabengwa’s reported speculation, saying: “Leaders of Zanu (PF) are appointed by Zanu (PF) and Dabengwa is not a member of Zanu (PF).
It is a figment of his imagination that Makoni would be invited to succeed Mugabe.”
A source recently told The Zimbabwean that Mugabe had announced his intention to rest immediately after the elections, which he thinks he stands a good chance of winning.
Mugabe’s projection is that he would hand over the baton to a preferred running mate—most likely Mujuru—in the event that he wins, in accordance with a clause in the draft constitution that provides for running mates to take over for the remainder of the term in the event that the President leaves office.
Post published in: News