Jonathan Moyo receives a New Year surprise

Charles Mabhena

With the rift between the Minister of Higher Education Jonathan Moyo and Presidential spokesperson George Charamba now a public secret, Moyo has just claimed receiving what he called a strange email from him.

Moyo used his favourite platform, twitter, as he no longer have access to the state media which is also under Charamba, who is the Perm Sec, to reveal the surprise a few minutes ago.

“This strange message just popped up on my inbox. Some hacking or phishing scheme,” writes Moyo.

Moyo pasted the message he has just received; “Greetings! I hope you and your family are in good health. I need a quick favour from you I am presently out of the country, so I can’t make use of my mobile phone, kindly reply once you receive my email. I will be expecting your urgent response on my email. Best regards, George,” read the statement.

The two are reported to be at ‘no talking terms’ and have previously chided each other in what is believed to be a ‘cold war.’

In January 2016 Charamba used an unsolicited radio interview on ZiFM, which is owned by Supa Mandiwanzira as a mouthpiece and accused Moyo and the so-called G 40 for fanning factionalism in ZANU PF and pretending to be behind the First Family (First Lady Grace Mugabe) when in fact they harbour dirty ambitions.

“One tragedy of those little fellas, and I call them little fellas, they confuse media skills with social skills. They think you can scale up a political ladder by tweeting.

Who think when you manipulate one or two headlines, you have a social base for launching your stupid ambitions, they will come to grief, get it from me. I am not speaking as a permanent secretary but President Mugabe’s press secretary,” said Charamba.

Charamba then equated Moyo and his G40 group to fools and added that it was his hope that someday they will come back to their clear thinking.

“As I said, this is the First Family, they will allow you a very long rope, but there is a limit. You can’t keep stretching the rope, at some point, the knot will tighten.”

Moyo later used the right to respond he was given by the station to lash back at Charamba saying he was overstepping his post as presidential spokesperson, and later twitted that there was no such post as ‘presidential spokesperson in the Constitution.

“There is no position of presidential spokesperson in the Constitution of Zimbabwe or structures of government,” he said.

At that moment Moyo had had his penned interview with the station on STEM struck out from the schedule, and he accused the station of being used by his opponents in ZANU PF for the last minute decision by the station decline to grant him an interview.

The two’s bad blood relationship dated back as 2004, when Moyo was kicked out from ZANU PF over his role in the Tsholostho Declaration that was meant to topple Mugabe, in which Charamba was tasked to prepare the speech and organise logistics.

The plan flopped it led to Moyo’s expulsion from the ruling party, while Charamba who declined taking part survived, it is believed from that time the two’s relationship got sour.

In 2006 Moyo also described Charamba as a useful idiot who is bent on making decisions through gossip information. He was an independent MP then.

When Moyo bounced back in 2013, the two seemed to have buried the hatchet and worked together to plan for Joice Mujuru’s downfall, but the relations did not last long as Moyo was moved from being Information Minister to be the Minister of Higher Education.