Mugabe is a coward — Sithole

Politics
Garikai Sithole the son to the late Zanu (Ndonga) leader Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole has described President Robert Mugabe as a coward

Garikai Sithole the son to the late Zanu (Ndonga) leader Reverend Ndabaningi Sithole has described President Robert Mugabe as a coward who is scared of challenges from popular colleagues.

BY CLAYTON MASEKESA

He said that was the reason he sacked former Vice-President Joice Mujuru.

Mugabe recently fired Mujuru accusing her of plotting to topple him from power using supernatural powers and assassination.

Sithole told The Standard on Friday that Mugabe fired Mujuru under pressure from his wife Grace.

“Yes, Grace Mugabe is our First Lady, but she is just a ‘young girl’ who does not know politics at all,” said Sithole.

“President Mugabe might accuse Mujuru of wanting to remove him from power, but, we know that Mugabe doesn’t like people who are ambitious. He did that to my father when he saw that he was rising to take over Zanu PF just before 1980,” claimed Sithole.

“He (Mugabe) says Mai Mujuru is corrupt but how many ministers and Zanu PF officials are corrupt? He is surrounded by crooks and vultures that are using his (Mugabe) name to amass wealth, but he does not realise that.”

He said Mugabe should have resolved his differences with Mujuru privately.

“I don’t think Mai Mujuru deserved all this. Can we really say Mai Mujuru is a bad leader? She is a true liberation war hero who deserved respect better than all other people surrounding Mugabe,” he said.

Sithole said by sacking Mujuru, Mugabe had in fact created chaos in Zanu PF.

“Mugabe did not see what will happen in future. He just thought of himself and acted on hearsay without going deep to the grassroots. Now he has created chaos in Zanu PF and this might create bigger problems for the party in the near future because all other people aligned to Mai Mujuru will not just keep quiet like that,” he said.

Sithole, a retired Zimbabwe National Army Captain, formed a new political outfit called the Zimbabwe Empowerment Movement (ZEM) in August this year.

“He (Mugabe) is now taking Zanu PF as his property. If people like my father and others including Solomon Mujuru, Josiah Tongogara and Hebert Chitepo among other fallen heroes were here today, Mugabe would not have been behaving like this,” said Sithole.

He said it was also unfortunate that Zanu PF expelled ousted war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda who played an important role in ensuring Mugabe won the 2013 elections.

“True war veterans will not rejoice over the sacking of Sibanda because he is a true war veteran. Sibanda fought hard for the welfare of war veterans.

It’s unfortunate that some fake people misled Mugabe to believe that Sibanda is a bad person. Mugabe will regret this,” he said.

Ndabaningi Sithole founded and was chief architect of the Zimbabwe African National Union party in August 1963 together with the likes of Herbert Chitepo, Mugabe, and Edgar Tekere in the Highfields House of Enos Nkala.