Women’s League clashes condemned

Cletus Mushanawani News Editor
THE dog fight rocking the Zanu-PF Manicaland women’s league is not healthy for the party and should be addressed as a matter of urgency since women form the backbone of the party. This was said by provincial secretary for administration, Cde Kenneth Saruchera this week following chaotic scenes that shocked a Zanu-PF women’s team in Mutare to probe allegations of participating in an illegal meeting that have been levelled against Politburo member and national spokesperson for the women’s league, Cde Monica Mutsvangwa.

It was a free-for all situation on Tuesday outside Mutare Hall where rival camps openly clashed, with insults being traded left, right and centre ahead of a meeting with the probe team that was being headed by deputy secretary for women’s affairs, Cde Sandi Moyo.

Obscenities were also being exchanged as things came to a head, Mutare City Council Ward Seven councillor, Cde Manyara Jusa was grabbed by the collar by some of the people gathered for the meeting, accusing her of being a divisive element.

“As a province we are worried with what is happening in the women’s league. This does not augur well for the party as women are the backbone of the party. Women in the province should be united and their fights will weaken the party. “There are a lot of programmes for women being initiated by the First Lady, Dr Amai Mugabe and our women stand to lose out through their fighting. They should take advantages of these programmes and empower themselves than to spend a lot of energy fighting each other,” said Cde Saruchera.

The women’s league in Manicaland has been hit with counter votes of no confidence and this has prompted its national executive to send a probe team to look into the developments in the province. The Cde Moyo-led team included Cdes Shuvai Mahofa and Sarah Mahoka among others within its ranks.

During Tuesday’s chaotic meeting, some members displayed placards which read: Mutsvangwa Must Go, We Are Tired Of Her Factionalism, Mutsvangwa A Dictator, Respect Youths and War Veterans Monica Mutsvangwa, VaMugabe Chete Chete, Who Are You To Change Venues Of The First Lady?, We Don’t Want Divisions In Manicaland, Nyakuedzwa A Sell-out, Nyakuedzwa Wife Of Mutasa Must Go and Nyakuedzwa Killed A War Veteran.

Cde Mutsvangwa was not present during the meeting and is understood to be in Namibia where she is attending a SADC Parliamentary workshop. A meeting was later convened in the Turner Memorial Library where only 40 members of the provincial women’s league executive were allowed to attend. Speaking after the meeting, Cde Moyo said her team was in Mutare on a fact finding mission to look into the allegations being levelled against Cde Mutsvangwa.

“The main issue of our visit is to know what is really going on here in Manicaland. We got the information we wanted and we are happy that we managed to have this meeting.

“I want to thank the province for convening this meeting, which was open and those who contributed were outspoken. They told us exactly what is happening here. We had our person who was jotting everything that was being said here and we will compile a document which we will forward to our leader, Dr Amai Mugabe,” she said.

Cde Moyo added: “We work with Amai Mugabe and we don’t want Amai to go around achitaura nyaya dzisina basa. Nearly everyone who was in the meeting spoke her mind, save for about three or four people. We got the results we wanted.” Meanwhile, Cde Saruchera said the province was full behind President Mugabe’s leadership.

“We are all behind President Mugabe’s leadership because divisions in the party are being caused by some senior members angling to take over from him. These leaders are behind the divisions rocking the grassroots and as a province we are saying we need President Mugabe’s leadership for a long time to come so that people can focus on critical programmes like the implementation of our economic blueprint, Zim-Asset as well as economic rival programmes.

“President Mugabe is a unifier and a respected Statesman and we are all behind his leadership,” he said. Cde Saruchera said their Victoria Falls People’s Conference resolutions revolve around the revival of industries in Manicaland as well as the supporting of farming activities.

“We want Manicaland to reclaim its status as the bastion of timber production in the country. We want the revival of small-scale horticulture projects across the country,” he said.