HARARE - In a sensational claim that analysts say helps explain the political and economic mess that Zimbabwe finds itself in, former Presidential Affairs minister Didymus Mutasa has revealed that President Robert Mugabe does not tolerate diversity of thought, makes all government decisions and does not consult anyone including his ministers.
Speaking to the Daily News yesterday, in the aftermath of the embarrassing civil servants bonus debacle which saw Mugabe publicly rebuking hapless Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa, the former senior Cabinet minister and close confidante of Mugabe for decades said the nonagenarian always made unilateral decisions and did not care a hoot about the consequences.
Also admitting to having been complicit in many historical mistakes, Mutasa said Mugabe had systematically centralised power over the years and was in the bad habit of making important decisions without either consulting or the knowledge and buy-in of his ministers.
At the same time, Mutasa expressed his surprise and horror at how major national post-independence atrocities such as the Gukurahundi massacres of the early 1980s and the Murambatsvina forced removals of 2005 had been allowed to happen.
In the case of Gukurahundi, the army’s North-Korean trained 5th Brigade stands accused of killing an estimated 20 000 innocent civilians mainly in Matabeleland and the Midlands.
“I was the Speaker of Parliament when Gukurahundi was taking place. Are you asking the current Speaker Jacob Mudenda about what is happening in government now. Nobody knows what was happening during Gukurahundi, we were just hearing stories,” Mutasa said when quizzed by the Daily News about the government’s human rights abuses especially Gukurahundi.
He said Zimbabweans should vigorously demand answers on these matters and others from the country’s leadership which had dispatched the 5th Brigade to the south-western parts of the country ostensibly to crush dissident activities in those areas.
And specifically asked by the Daily News to say what his role was in the death of Christpowers Maisiri — the boy who died under contested circumstances in his former constituency of Headlands — Mutasa said former MDC secretary general Tendai Biti, who had publicly accused him of murdering the boy in 2013, was currently facing defamatory charges in court because he had told the nation “lies”.
“I was not there when that boy was killed and never had a hand in his death,” an emotional Mutasa said.
He said he was mostly “a mere pawn” during his time in government and did not have control or a voice in the manner in which the government enforced programmes such as Operation Murambatsvina.
Citing Chinamasa’s humiliating public shellacking by Mugabe during Independence Day celebrations on Saturday, as an example, Mutasa said most ministers in cabinet were “mere sailors who are not in control of the ship”.
“I was never head of government, so why don’t you ask Mugabe? Why do you ask me about Murambatsvina?
“I accept that I was part of his cabinet but honestly I do not know about how those things happened. Look at Chinamasa, he honestly says there is no bonus only for Mugabe to say he is lying.
“The government has always been disjointed because Mugabe is the centre of power and we as ministers were never consulted. Remember I was once fired when I questioned the Esap (Economic Structural Adjustment Programme),” Mutasa said.
Since Zanu PF’s disputed congress last year at which Mugabe purged officials believed to be loyal to former Vice President Joice Mujuru, there has been complete anarchy both with the ruling party and in government, with First Lady Grace Mugabe seemingly directing the mayhem.
Mugabe himself admitted at the congress that he was being told what to do by his much younger wife – a situation that insiders say caused the split of the ruling party into two bitterly opposed Zanu PF formations, one led by the nonagenarian and the other apparently by Mujuru and calling itself the original Zanu PF and using the slogan People First.
Analysts have pointed out that by insisting that they are the original Zanu PF, the People First movement is trying to hit Mugabe where it hurts because he was not part of the team of liberation heroes who formed the party.
Firebrand former war veterans leader, Jabulani Sibanda, who also stands accused of engaging in violent campaigns while in Zanu PF ahead of the 2013 polls, also spoke about the Gukurahundi massacres yesterday saying he was also a victim of the murders.
“I stood up against Gukurahundi. At that time I was Nkomo’s aide and I was locked up in Khami for standing up against Gukurahundi and then later transferred to Chikurubi Maximum Prison where I was tortured because I was standing up against a genocide,” Sibanda said.
Quizzed by the Daily News about his role ahead of the 2013 elections, the outspoken war veteran said anyone with evidence that would pin any murders or violent activities against him should bring it up.
“When Murambatsvina came I supported the relocation of the people and not the demolition of their homes. I was against the placing of people in some form of concentration camps. I believed that government should provide shelter and that the relocation of people should be done gradually,” Sibanda said.
The problem with Mutasa according to Mugabe is that "he is an old donkey who will never learn." Its only yesterday you were saying you belong to the old Zanu with Mugabe as leader and that the problem is the "mafikizolo" and now you are saying what many of us have known for a long long time that Mugabe is a terrible & incompetent leader. Where is your intergrity when you knew all these things and you didnt step up and challenge them? Had you retained your position you would not be saying all these things and that is the problem.
''Breaking the silence...at last'' this is what Mutasa is doing. Tell us all about it, tell us how you were a stooge of Mugabe, tell us what else you were instructed to do for so many years, tell whom you eliminated on instruction from Mugabe, tell it as it is...go on and on before they silence you!!
What Mutasa is saying is the truth. Ministers from SADC countries frequently point this out and openly ridicule Zim Ministers as clowns who have no decision making authority and yet speak the loudest at regional conferences. Mutasa has now confirmed what SADC has been saying for the past 35 years.
We knew about Mugabe's dictatorial tendencies as way back as 1977 There is nothing new that the stupid Mutasa is telling us..now after he has been a stooge for so long. He Mutasa should take the blame for keeping quiet. Hee is making too much noise and acting as MR F***JNG NICE!! He Mutasa. Mugabe and the whole lot should just keep quiet so that we can continue our struggle...FOURTH CHIMURENGA!!!!!!!
all i contributed all these years was the discovery of diesel in chinhoyi!!
The self proclaimed lion of Samanyikaland has become a lose canon!! Go on tell us all the fairy tales Mr Mudhidhimasi !!
What action are you going to take against Mugabe?? You will be blaming him for the next 20 years and he will be there.
Cde D.Mutasa grapes are sour. You were in zanu Pf and if you had not lost out you were not going to say all rubbish you are vomiting. You are just as evil as your former boss.
If Mutasa was a principled person he would have left ZPF years ago. If he hadn't been dismissed he would not have been critical of Mugabe. Simply put we do not trust you!
@Rafeal Santos, whatever Mutasa is or was does not absolve Mugabe's sins. Mugabe is a selfish incompetent dictator who thinks speaking good English is a strategy. I don't carry a brief for Mutasa, but I am also alive to Mugabe's self styled destruction of this country. Mutasa does not have to convince me or anyone about Mugabe's evil tendencies. The proof is there for everybody to see. That proof is called Zimbabwe.
Bravo @connie! Couldn't say it better.
The situation is worse than what people foresee or are reading in the current circumstances. We Mark my words, will be stuck with Mugabe or his proxy for a foreseeable future. Mugabe is so afraid to lose power such that to him, losing power means painful death comparable to death through Xenophobia. He plays the ball between Joyce and Munangagwa in such a skilful way. I don't know whether munangagwa is aware that Mugabe has no intention of making him his successor. Munangagwa and Mujuru should sit down and refuse to be played against each other. Again, mark my words, either Grace, Chatunga or Chombo are ear-marked for succession. So we are stuck with the Gushungo Dynasty for a very long time to come. Those who think this will not happen should consider whether it was ever conceivable that Joyce Mujuru would be a mere loafer in 2015? Mugabe has a very sophisticated network that he has weaved all these years such that his whims and fancies can be put realisation any time of a minute. To confirm Mugabe's abysmal fear of losing power, just ask yourself why does a nonagenarian severely punishes his body by refusing to rest and instead subjects his body to the daily work routines of a young man with vigour. His children are now all well-off, so why clinging to power.
did he not say that he was put behind bars several times for standing up to Mugabe? whatever misgivings he has, the man appears to be honest in his statements. allow him to say his mind at least - unless you feel that he may in the process compromise your political careers. some of the severe negatives are coming from mdc t circles and die hard zanu supporters.
Kudos editor Fungi for asking moderate tough questions but you should have followed up more as @Galore 123 summarized.
"Quizzed by the Daily News about his role ahead of the 2013 elections, the outspoken war veteran said anyone with evidence that would pin any murders or violent activities against him should bring it up" Its your job editor fungi to bring it up? Dont let him get away with murder.
Mutasa and Sibanda are shameless liars. Only recently, Mutasa was boasting about the skills of Zim's CIO in getting info from our bedrooms. Sibanda was going around wielding guns and forcing pple to vote for ZPF in the 2013 elections. He camped all over the place, forcing villagers to do his will. He cannot tell us now that all of a sudden he is a saint. So these guys who terrorised innocent have no right to seek public sympathy, never. They take Zimbabweans to be fools who have no memory of what happened. If Mutasa thought there was something wrong in the Mugabe system, why did he not resign? He did nor resign because he was, like all of the fat cats, making money from the system. That is why they are richer the nation right now. Mugabe allowed to make money and externalize it, and through his patronage system, they should not criticize him. But their money is safe in foreign banks, and now they can make small noises which are worthless.
leave Mutasa alone he is openning up pole pole until he gets to the point he will tell us about how he and Mugabe rigged elections . Remember during the days when he was fired from zanu he used to tell us that the president was being misled by mafikizolos . Now he has gone a step by saying Mugabe makes bad decisions alone and he is not being misled by mafikizolos . Daily news keep on talking to Mutasa very soon you will get the breaking news about how elections were stolen ..
So Mutasa and his faction belong to this old Zanu PF, the pre-2014 Congress ZANU PF, what he calls the 'original' ZANU-PF, the one he cannot be expelled from; where Mugabe did not consult? And he wants us to support them. No! no! no!
Mutasa & his team deserve support despite their evil past.Now that they say,''PEOPLE FIRST,''they should tell the nation every evil done by Mugabe & his ZPF devils.
"Daily news" Last week you had sunk to new low levels.It has taken four months to ask Mutasa and company these questions. Daily news room must be freed and reclaim its status. Ask these politicians what they don't want to be asked. Any shareholder who don't want "tell like it is" must take his money and invest at Zimpapers. I hpoe this report is not just a damage control. Thanks Fungi for starters.
That is why he claims that if you oppose him, he accuse you of wanting to assessnate him. It is because he is power hungry. That is why he can not retire while those of his age who started ruling after him have retired.
x company chimbomira nyaya dzekutengesa Honda. We mean serious business mhani. Busy selling your car Tockey ari kuenda nenyika?
Anyone who misconstrues Murambatsvina as a human right violation , that person must be totally insane, that person surely consumes raw sewage and is an animal. For all normal people, Murambatsvina, just like the name is the best the ZANU PF Government has done. They should conduct such exercises on weekly basis.
Kutuka vamwe is a sign of mental immaturity...it destroys debate. You loose focus. You may have a good point but its lost venomous attack of the other individuals' right to express their opinion Just express your opinion without going foul.. It's poor politics.
i dont mind supporting and voting for the Mujuru cabal as long as they oppose Mugabe and his corrupt cabal. The current Zpf regime is too destructive and is short of nothing constructive and developmental to the nation than ravaging what is still left. how on earth can you have ministers that are constantly threatening companies when the economy is on a downward spiral. Look at them threatening to shut down Tongaat Hullet , trying to take a poultry farm. Do these people ever realise that businesses run on capital injections and good corporate management .
The Mujurus are part of the mess. All this as is manifesting has been forecast. Mutasa, Mugabe, Mujuru, Munangabga, Sekeramai, Mavhaire, Jonathan, among many others in ZANU PF are those who were behind the countless praise songs that essentially made Mugabe a god in Zimbabwe. To hell with you and your fellow killers. You belong to that clique that disadvantaged us so much we are struggling to convince ourselves if at all we actually are only skin-colour different from the white colonialists. May you die.
S o Mutasa says he belongs to the pre2014 conference ZPF? BUT that outfit was just as unholy as the post conference one if not worse. For it is this party which is responsible for all the evils and misrule that we have been subjected to since independence. So if Mutasa is asking us to support this so called original ZPF THAT IS TANTAMOUNT TO CALLING US ZIMBABEANS FOOLS. You see, one trick which Mugabe uses is to make everyone dirty who works with him.