BREAKING NEWS: ED Mnangagwa fires Energy Mutodi, Lacoste ally “fears for his life”

President ED Mnangagwa has fired controversial long time ally and Zimbabwe Deputy Minister for Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Energy Mutodi.

The news was announced by Permanent Secretary, Presidential Communications Office of the President and Cabinet, R Chikowore in a statement on Wednesday.

Part of the statement read:

Termination of Employment: Dr Energy Mutodi. Deputy Minister of Information Publicity and Broadcasting Services. 20 May 2020

The Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet, Dr M.J.M. Sibanda, has announced the termination of employment by His Excellency the President, Cde E.D. Mnangagwa, of Dr Energy Mutodi as Deputy Minister of Government in the Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services.

The termination which is with immediate effect is in terms of Section 108 (la) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe (Amendment No. 20) of 2013.

 

 

Mutodi fears for his life?

 

Last week Energy Mutodi claimed that he is living in fear. According to Mutodi, he is fearful of the threat posed by an alleged coalition of Minister of Foreign Affairs Sibusiso Moyo and former special advisor to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Christopher Mutsvangwa.  Mutodi is so fearful that he has begged for prayers from the nation.

This come barely 48 hours after the government threw Mutodi under the bus and distanced themselves from his remarks aimed at Tanzania. Mutodi had written a social media post which appeared to mock Tanzania’s President John Magufuli for his response to the coronavirus. Mutodi was not too pleased when SB Moyo censured him publicly and distanced the government from Mutodi’s remarks.

Writing on social media early on today(last week), Mutodi said:

Living in fear of the Chris Mutsvangwa-SB Moyo coalition. I hope it won’t resort to wartime tactics. Appealing for prayers.

Mutodi wrote a strongly worded letter to SB Moyo remonstrating with him over his response to Mutodi’s social media post. Mutodi is reported to have told the retired army general that he is not a ‘Prime Minister’ who oversees several ministries.

Part of Mutodi’s letter reads,

“With due respect to your highly regarded office, I wish to remind you that our two ministries operate on a divergent yet complementary role, with your foreign affairs ministry outward-looking while my information ministry is inward.

“While my ministry is worried about the public perception on the national leadership, its image, electability and the public approval ratings of the president, your ministry focuses on foreign cooperation and diplomatic engagement, otherwise our two ministries should have been merged if they served the same purpose.

“Your public statement, which could have been sufficiently dealt with by a diplomatic correspondence to the Tanzanian embassy, if it mattered, has divided public opinion, first on the definition and meaning of government and whether you had become its Prime Minister in charge of the two ministries.”

After national broadcaster ZBC News reported that government had distanced itself from Mutodi’s utterances, the deputy minister fired shots at his boss Monica Mutsvanga. He accused Monica Mutsvangwa and her husband Christopher Mutsvangwa of capturing ZBC and abusing it for their own ends.