The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Sunday News Reporter
THE ruling Zanu-PF has embarked on a series of rallies aimed at clarifying to their supporters events leading to Operation Restore Legacy amid revelations that there were unscrupulous individuals fomenting divisions in the party through spreading falsehoods.
Speaking at the first of those rallies in Nyamandlovu yesterday, the party’s Secretary for Administration who is Home Affairs and Culture Minister Dr Obert Mpofu said they had realised that they were malicious individuals who were misleading their supporters with the objective of causing discontent in the party.
He said it was unfortunate that there were some members who were still aligned to the G40 cabal within the party ranks who did not want to accept that the party was at its strongest after Operation Restore Legacy and continued their attempts to destabilise the party.
“I am here as part of our efforts to tell you what happened during the Operation Restore Legacy which saw us having a new President. I know that there are people who have been coming to you spreading falsehoods just in an effort to destabilise our party.
“One thing which I like especially when it comes to Matabeleland North is that this is the only province that shied away from any division or factional fights. Even the main architect of the G40 cabal (Professor Jonathan Moyo) who was from this province tried to divide the province but we remained resolute ignoring his futile divisionist efforts,” said Dr Mpofu.
He said as a party they still loved former President Cde Robert Mugabe and that it was not true that events leading to his resignation were a sign of their dislike for the former leader of the revolutionary party.
“We loved and continue to love Cde Mugabe. He was a leader who liked his people and the entire country very much. However, his only let down was his wife (former First Lady Mrs Grace Mugabe). If you are a wife you must be humble and not try to overpower your husband, if you see your wife starting to insult people you regard as your friends like the way the former First Lady was doing that is when you see that there is a problem.
“Things went haywire when Mrs Mugabe started having Presidential ambitions. Thugs from the G40 cabal started being her advisors, they started to fire people from our party and causing disharmony, which is when the army stepped in as they were worried with what was happening in the ruling party,” said Dr Mpofu.
He said the army did not target Cde Mugabe as was being said but were only interested in thugs who were wrongfully advising him who did not have the party at heart.
“I tell you, things were difficult comrades, I was the party’s Treasurer-General at the time and I witnessed everything. Mrs Mugabe wanted to be President but she knew that if she went through a voting system she was going to be defeated by our current President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who had a huge following, hence their move to expel President Mnangagwa from the party.
“When the army had finished their role they then handed over the baton to us as a party to fix the mess that had been created by the G40 cabal, which led to the Central Committee meeting on 19 November,” he said.
Dr Mpofu said the party was now stronger than ever before noting that opposition parties now feared the ruling party so much that if it was up to them the impending harmonised elections would be postponed.
He further took a swipe at members of the G40 cabal who continued to hold onto inputs that were meant to be distributed to the people saying the long arm of the law would eventually catch up with them.
“Some of these people had tonnes and tonnes of rice, maize and beans which they were holding on to for whatever reasons. What is sad is that these were things meant to be distributed to people, that shows how cruel these people were.
“From here on my call is that let us be united as a party, work hard and prepare for the elections. If you see someone today preaching disunity, divisions, tribalism or factions know that the person is corrupt and does not want to see our country develop,” he said.
Speaking at the same rally the party’s Matabeleland North provincial chairperson Cde Richard Moyo encouraged party members to register to vote saying they should take advantage of the mop-up exercise that had been launched by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
“Let everyone register to vote so that we ensure that the party gets a clean sweep in the impending elections. Even those in the Diaspora, encourage them to come and register because it is also their right.
“As a party let’s pull up our socks and work very hard from cell level to branch, district and eventually the province. We want to have clear structures and the leadership should work very hard to mobilise members,” said Cde Moyo.
