The Sunday News
Robin Muchetu, Senior Reporter
THE leader of the New Patriotic Front (NPF), Brigadier-General Ambrose Mutinhiri (Retired) disappeared from the armed struggle when Rhodesians started intensifying their operations against Zipra forces in Zambia and went on to live among the povo in Makene, just outside Lusaka.
In an interview with Sunday News on Tuesday last week in Bulawayo, former Zipra Chief of Logistics Retired Colonel Thomas Ngwenya said in his opinion, Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri does not have the gravitas to lead any organisation, let alone a country because he disappeared from the war front at the crucial stages of the struggle in preference of a soft life.
Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri, former Mashonaland East Minister of State for Provincial Affairs quit Zanu-PF and announced his ambitions of running for presidency in the forthcoming elections on the NPF ticket, a political outfit said to be the brainchild of former President Robert Mugabe and his wife, Mrs Grace Mugabe. NPF is a new political project believed to be an extension of the G40 cabal.
“Mutinhiri . . . I don’t think so, he can’t lead Zimbabwe, you see, you study the calibre of a person, if it’s a woman you can say this one can be married, if it’s a man you can see that this one can marry but with him I don’t think so. Again I do not remember him being integrated into the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) despite his ‘brigadier’ status. You must have seen our intake of first officers of the ZNA, they (pictures) are hung in my sleeping room. He was not there. No,” said Rtd Col Ngwenya.
He went on: “Mutinhiri was nowhere near us, no. How can he say people forgot about him over the years? How do you even bring on someone who was not in the system? During the ceasefire period he was no longer part of the Zipra forces as he had disappeared and was living with the povo in Makene.
He had been senior yes, as the Chief of Staff, but he just disappeared. It was not the first time for him to do that as he once left us to join Froliz. The second time when he disappeared the Rhodesians were bombing us heavily in Zambia. What I would also emphasise is we had some people who moved out of the camp when we were bombed at Freedom Camp, west of Lusaka where we had our headquarters. Mutinhiri was our deputy commander at that time. But he stayed outside the camp.”
Rtd Col Ngwenya said people fought so that they could have the right to vote, but elections should not be reduced to a joke.
He said it would be unfair to compare Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri with President Emmerson Mnangagwa whom he described as an astute freedom fighter and gifted politician.
“I say this about Cde Mnangagwa from an informed position as he was our chairman of the first intake when Zipra, Zanla and Rhodesian forces were integrated into the Zimbabwe National Army by the British. Mnangagwa is a good leader and there are no questions about that. Since I have known Mnangagwa he does not have time for clowning like what we see from some people. He has always been a serious man who means business,” said Rtd Col Ngwenya.
Another ex-combatant who served in the Zapu/Zipra intelligence unit, the National Security Organisation (NSO) said people should not be fooled by Rtd Brig-Gen Mutinhiri that he was discriminated in Zipra on tribal grounds.
The ex-NSO operative who asked not to be named said a number of Shona speaking people held senior positions in Zipra such as late national hero Elliot Masengo and Mpandasekwa Muzheri while the Zapu senior leadership was dominated by Shona speakers such as late national heroes, Cdes Josiah Chinamano, Joseph Msika, Ariston Chambati, Samuel Munodawafa and Willie Musararurwa.
“In fact what happened when we came from the war was that Ambrose Mutinhiri wanted to go to Parliament, so he was on the list of MPs, so was Elliot Masengo. However, when Zapu got those seats it had not anticipated there was a problem and natural they were taken by politicians not soldiers.
However, Masengo was clever enough and he went back to the military and was attested into the ZNA and it’s not true that Ambrose was ignored,” said the former NSO officer.
