Former minister of State Security Didymus Mutasa has turned down an invitation to join the newly-formed National Patriotic Front (NPF), saying it is nothing but a tribal party doing the bidding for deposed ex-president, Robert Mugabe.
Mutasa, 82, had a private meeting with NPF leader, retired brigadier-general Ambrose Mutinhiri at his residence in Harare, sending the rumour mill into overdrive amid speculation that the former Marondera West legislator had convinced him to join the new political formation.
“It is true that I met Mutinhiri, but I am not yet their member. I am there for the people to consult. I meet anyone from Tendai Biti to Nelson Chamisa but that does not mean I will be joining them,” Mutasa told the Daily News.
“I think there is no big difference between the two parties — Zanu PF and the NPF. The party is tribalistic. This is a party that is looking at a particular region and not the whole country,” he added.
While Mugabe has denied any involvement in the new political outfit, Mutasa — who worked closely with him from the 1970s to 2014 when they fell out — insisted yesterday that the former president was the brains behind the political outfit.
Presently, Mutinhiri and NPF spokesperson Jealousy Mawarire are the only two political figures that have nailed their NPF colours to the mast although it is believed that the majority of those who belonged to the Generation 40 (G40) faction, which was resistant to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s succession bid, could be working for the NPF behind the scenes.
On its part, the NPF has publicly declared it has the blessings of Mugabe, claims that have riled Zanu PF which regards the 94-year-old’s machinations as meant to divide its votes ahead of make-or-break elections around June/July.
Mugabe has insisted that his removal last November was illegal and is accusing Mnangagwa of having betrayed him.
Mutasa told the Daily News that Mugabe was being hoisted with his own petard, considering how he manipulated the law during his 37 years of misrule.
“It will take long to see Mugabe; he called me a donkey, he said so many bad things about me. If I forgive him, I will then engage him but not now. It is sad that he now sees that the people who are now leading are doing what he used to do when he was still in power. He doesn’t want people to do what he used to do to them. Why is he interfering in politics, he deserves what he is getting, he is the one throwing the stones at the kids, the kids didn’t go to his home,” said Mutasa. daily news
