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Farirai Machivenyika Senior Reporter—
The Zanu-PF Politburo yesterday expelled former secretary for Administration Mr Didymus Mutasa and Hurungwe West legislator Mr Temba Mliswa from the revolutionary party on various charges, including undermining the party and its leadership. The decision to expel Mr Mutasa and his nephew Mr Mliswa, was reached following deliberations by the Zanu-PF National Disciplinary Committee chaired by Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko.

Zanu-PF Secretary for Information and Publicity Cde Simon Khaya Moyo announced the pair’s expulsion at a Press conference after yesterday’s Politburo meeting.

“On Cde Didymus Mutasa, a detailed report by the NDC was presented to the Politburo by the Secretary for Legal Affairs Cde Patrick Chinamasa, highlighting the disparaging remarks said by Cde Mutasa against the party and the party’s leadership and his rubbishing of the Congress as illegal, null and void.

“He went on to write to Sadc leaders appealing for their intervention in the party’s affairs.

“The Committee treated his case as unique and extraordinary and determined that according to its rules, Cde Mutasa has continued to be unrepentant and has continued to issue statements, which are unhelpful to him. The Politburo has, therefore, expelled Cde Didymus Mutasa from the party, which renders his parliamentary seat (Headlands) vacant,” Cde Khaya Moyo said.

Mr Mutasa was part of the putschist cabal led by former Vice President Dr Joice Mujuru, accused of plotting to illegally unseat and/or assassinate President Mugabe. Mr Mutasa dismally lost Central Committee elections in his Makoni Central District and subsequently failed to make it into the Politburo.

He has also threatened to take his case to the courts, but was still to file his papers after being snubbed by several lawyers who said his court bid was long on political allegations and short on law.

Mr Mutasa’s home province of Manicaland and people in his Headlands constituency had recommended his expulsion from the party.

On Mr Mliswa, the Politburo also found him guilty of disrespecting the party’s leadership and disrupting party meetings in Mashonaland West province.

“On Cde Temba Mliswa, he has also been expelled from the party on an array of charges ranging from insubordination, denigrating party leaders, interfering with the running of the party’s youths and women’s leagues in the province, extortionist behaviour and continuing disrupting party meetings.

“His expulsion also renders his seat vacant,” he said.

Mr Mliswa was the first chairman to receive a no-confidence vote in the run up to the 6th National People’s Congress for aligning himself with Cde Mujuru’s cabal but has remained unremorseful and has disrupted two Zanu PF meetings in Chinhoyi and Karoi in the past three weeks.

Mr Mliswa told ZBC News that: “I don’t have a problem with that it will give me peace of mind.”

Meanwhile, the Politburo also readmitted Bikita West legislator Dr Munyaradzi Kereke, Mudzi representative Cde Jonathan Samkange and Cde Daniel Garwe who contested and lost the Murehwa North seat in the 2013 harmonised election as an independent to Cde Tendai Makunde.

Cde Khaya Moyo said the Politburo had accepted the trio’s appeals against their expulsion from the party.

“On Dr Kereke, he was expelled from the party in 2013 after he stood as a candidate for Zanu-PF in the Bikita West constituency contrary to the party position, which recognised Cde Elias Musakwa. However, the party itself had duly signed Kereke’s papers somehow. Dr Kereke wrote to the NDC to have his case reviewed and it took sometime, but I can tell you that the view of the NDC is that Dr Kereke’s appeal should be upheld and he should retain his full membership of the party,” Cde Khaya Moyo said.

On Cde Samkange who also ran as an independent and won the Mudzi seat in the 2013 elections, the Politburo also accepted his appeal.

“We have accepted his application obviously meaning that the processes of parliament will take their course and we shall most likely have a by-election in that constituency,” he said.

Cde Samkange welcomed the Politburo’s decision.

“Finally justice has been done. I have been exonerated on the stand I took after I had been unlawfully and unjustifiably disqualified to stand as a Zanu-PF candidate. I also want to thank the First Lady, Dr Grace Mugabe who also exonerated me by exposing Ray Kaukonde and people like Didymus Mutasa for their machinations against the President.

“I was one of the first people to say Kaukonde was up to no good and I am happy that I have been vindicated because I stood for the right thing. I have been a member of Zanu-PF since the 1970s when I was a student at the university and my record has been straightforward since then,” Cde Samkange said.

Cde Garwe also welcomed his readmission into the party.

“I am happy with the decision taken by the party because I feel I was unfairly treated when I was disqualified. I am happy to be back in the party and will do everything to ensure the growth of the name,” Cde Garwe said.

“I am very happy that my party Zanu-PF has corrected the anomaly that had been artifically created by Mr Didymus Mutasa that I was not a member of Zanu-PF yet I have always been,” said Cde Kereke.

Mine is, therefore, not a case of re-admission as some had wrongly intepreted it, but that of re-confirmation to clear all and any shred of confusion that Mr Mutasa had created.”

The Constitution requires that a by-election be held if a person holding as an independent candidate decides to join a political party.

Meanwhile, Cde Chinamasa also presented a report to the Politburo on the implementation of Government’s economic blueprint Zim-Asset, while Secretary for the Commissariat Cde Saviour Kasukuwere also briefed the Politburo on the ongoing restructuring exercise of the party.