The 93 year old Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe has informed journalists on Saturday 7 October, about his latest and sudden plans of making some changes in his government.
The President was at a youth meeting when he made the remarks of reshuffling his cabinet.
“Next week there might be some changes in the government. I might remain with the same team or make some changes or even discard some. The exercise is going to be done early next week, so, just be waiting for the results,” Mugabe told a meeting of his ZANU-PF youth wing.
In this case, different sources and political analysts in Zimbabwe have suspected the sudden change in cabinet to be aimed at discarding his first Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The suspicion is raised in regards to the current situation between VP Emmerson Mnangagwa and his counterpart VP Phelekezela Mphoko, about the August 12 incident, at the Gwanda, Mugabe’s youth rally.
During the youth rally in Gwanda, Mnangagwa fell ill and was flown to South Africa for medical attention, where he says that his doctors said he was poisoned.
Earlier on Tuesday, VP Mphoko attacked VP Mnangagwa with accusations of him (Mnangagwa) having lied about being poisoned and informed that Mnangagwa had undermined the President’s power, and thus wanted to stimulate political instability in the country.
On Thursday, VP Mnangagwa spoke out against the accusation and said that he had never had any bad intentions against the First family and that it had never been his intention to arouse any political insecurity in Zimbabwe, and so vowed his loyalty to the First family.
However, his explanation might have come late. To the fact that he said he was diagnosed with poison, and he fell ill at the rally, this had already made a rift between him and the First family.
Despite his vowed loyalty, sources indicate that the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association’s (ZNLWVA) influential organs, the youth and the women’s league, led by Grace Mugabe, have cut him off.
On Thursday, the First Lady, Grace Mugabe, following the Gwanda incident, told Emmerson Mnangagwa that he was free to leave the party. She made it so clear that they needed him no more, when she called him a ‘nothing’ – sources quoted.
“If you are at your wits’ end, go home and rest. If you try several things and none of them gives a positive result, don’t keep on doing by repeating the same things. It is impossible to claim loving the President, yet you hate his wife, it definitely means you don’t love the President,” said Grace Mugabe.
Analyzing the situation, analysts have informed that this might be the end of Emmerson Mnangagwa’s time in the VP office.
It is becoming increasingly clear that the Vice President, Emmerson Mnangagwa, is left with only two options. To resign, or risk termination – analysts said.
Shakespeare Hamauswa, said that Grace’s words sounded like a knell for Mnangagwa’s down fall.
According to the Zimbabwe history, this is not the first time something like this is happening.
September, 2014, Grace Mugabe spearheaded the dismissal of Joice Mujuru from the ZANU-PF and the government too. The allegations laid on Mujuru were that she was planning to overthrow the President.
As for Mnangagwa, interestingly, Grace Mugabe, on Thursday, still informed that there was a plan for Mnangagwa’s supporters to make a coup against the government, if their desired candidate did not become the next Zimbabwe President.
However, Mnangagwa’s only crime is letting the world know he was poisoned and still standing by it.
The question in time now is if the Joice Mujuru history is going to reincarnate itself, but this time in Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Reporter: Shamilah Namuddu
