Jonathan Moyo reprimanded

Authoritative sources in the VPs office said Moyo was summoned by a furious Mujuru last Wednesday who advised him that he should keep to himself his opinion on the delicate mediation being handled by the South African President.

“He was told Minister Mumbengegwi will handle relations between the two countries,” said our source.

Moyo had written in state-run Sunday Mail blasting Zuma’s proposed roadmap as a regime change tool.

In the hard-hitting opinion piece, the motor-mouth political science professor suggested Zuma wanted to use the roadmap to overthrow Zimbabwes embattled President Robert Mugabe in the same way the South African leader voted for last months UN resolution that imposed a no-fly zone over Libya.

Zuma is the official Southern African Development Community (SADC) mediator in the long-running political wrangle between Mugabe and former opposition leader now Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

The serial political flip-flop, who has in the past also spewed his venom on Mugabe, even threatened in the same article that Zumas mediation team that visited Harare two weeks ago would face a hostile reception.

Writing in the newspaper, Moyo said: “President Zuma is now tainted beyond recovery by the Libyan situation and his commitment to the African cause has become questionable.”

Mujuru is said to have angrily told Moyo that he was not the government spokesman and he should not spoil relations between the two countries.

He is reported to have been asked: “What are you trying to achieve?”

Moyo is said to have apologised profusely and said he was taking a cue from the President who had lashed out at Zuma during an address to Zanu (PF)s central committee meeting held three weeks ago.

Mujuru then told him that he was not the President, according to our source. “He was cut to size,” said our source.

There is no love lost between the two after the political scientist attempted to scuttle Mujurus ascendancy to the Vice Presidency nearly seven years ago in a plot that came to be called the Tsholotsho Declaration.

Efforts to get Moyo to comment on the reprimand were futile on Friday. But our source said: “Mai Mujuru doesnt trust him and she believes he is out to destroy Zanu (PF) from within.”

Editors at the Sunday Mail who had described Zuma as “erratic” and disaster-prone” have also been called to order as Zimbabwe moves to heal the rift.

There was an appreciation that the attacks were not coming from the government, Mumbengegwi told journalists after meeting ambassadors from SADC countries on Thursday.

“You cannot attribute attacks from an individual to government. You know who speaks for the party and who speaks for the government”

Earlier Mugabe’s spokesman George Charamba had distanced the President from Moyo’s vicious statement.