FORMER Zanu PF secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa said the chaos and lawlessness that rocked the Zanu PF ship in the run-up to its disputed December congress confirmed that the party was “now a monstrous organisation that has no respect for its own rules, values and principles”.
By Everson Mushava
In court papers submitted to the High Court on Tuesday to support his legal challenge against President Robert Mugabe, Mutasa said the chaos experienced in the ruling party ahead of the congress was a “serious indictment of democracy and rule of laws in Zanu PF and indeed the country”.
The former Zanu PF Headlands MP wants the congress resolutions nullified.
“The first respondent (Zanu PF) has become a monstrous organisation that has no respect for rules, values and principles,” said Mutasa in his court application.
“The instant application, thus seeks to redress the unlawfulness that occurred at congress.”
Before congress, Zanu PF went through a turbulent phase that saw the ouster of 16 ministers, provincial chairpersons and party officials linked to former former Vice-President Joice Mujuru’s alleged plot to unseat Mugabe.
Mutasa said the violence against party against members perceived to be loyal to Mujuru accelerated following Mugabe’s wife First Lady Grace’s entry into active party politics.
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He said the wave of intimidation became more pronounced when party members realised that Grace’s vitriolic attacks on Mujuru had the backing of Mugabe himself. Mutasa said Mugabe’s refusal to name his successor also fuelled infighting within the party. Former party spokesperson Rugare Gumbo, who was also fired for being a Mujuru ally, claimed that Mugabe became hysterical whenever he was called to discuss his succession plans.
In their joint application, Mutasa and Gumbo claim that there was serious breach of the Zanu PF constitution in the run-up to the party’s congress and want the constitutional changes that gave Mugabe sweeping powers declared illegal.
