By Peter Nyoni: Some have labelled Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa a puppet, they say he is not in control of the country’s affairs, alleging that his deputy Constantino Chiwenga is the one who is in charge.
The critics say Chiwenga, the man who played key role in the coup that deposed former leader and dictator Robert Mugabe, is the one calling the shots, and that Mnangagwa is heavily indebted to him and powerless.
Mnangagwa is also believed to be incapacitated by having a lot of people to pay back, queen bees, and business cartels. When the issue of cartels came to the fore, many people were puzzled as they try to unravel who are these guys would be.
A former top ZANU PF official who seem to have vast technical know-how on how the internal ruling party operatives works, has exposed hints on how the party get its funds, apart from dipping fingers in state coffers.
While some may think it as a case of sour grapes, according to others some of the exposures he has made seem to hold water. Former minister of higher education Jonathan Moyo is making sensational claims that Econet founder Strive Masiyiwa has been funding the Mnangagwa’s government in its deals.
Moyo claims that Masiyiwa who knew how broke ZANU PF was, took the opportunity to fund the ruling party, so as to buy favours. Moyo through a series of tweets unravels how the Econet founder played his cards, including funding the country’s 2013 elections. This was done so as to avoid external funding and external oversight by organs such as SADC, he says.
However, while some think of Moyo, who was believed to have been the ruling party’s chief strategist for years, as a dump misinformed person, others think otherwise.
Renowned political analyst Pedzisai Ruhanya says Moyo is not dump and that his utterances are from an informed point of view. He says liking it or not Moyo is a coherent, robust and rigorous intellectual.
While another analyst Elder Mabhunu believes in the same school of thought, commenting on the Moyo, Masiyiwa saga, Mabhunu describes it as a tip of the iceberg, adds that a lot would come out. “We have been hearing of queen bees and cartels, and this could be one of them. We are bound to hear more of them, as the internal disintegration continues,” he says.
He adds that the current labour squabbles could also expose the disjoint within the status quo, and that it could be a matter of time before a massive exposure of dirty tactics.
Be that as it may, Masiyiwa recently torched a storm when he claimed that Mnangagwa was a sincere leader who needs to be given time to solve the country’s economic crisis. Critics who believe Mnangagwa is as good as a lost chap in the economic jungle lambasted Masiyiwa for the sentiments, alleging that he could be canvassing for a top government post.
He has since instructed his lawyers to file an application for defamation against Moyo and it is now gloves off.
Meanwhile, Moyo is declining to be cowed, and threatens to spill more beans.
How this war will end, nobody knows, only the hands of time will tell.
