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President Emmerson Mnangagwa

Harare Bureau
President Emmerson Mnangagwa was always loyal to former Head of State and Government Cde Robert Mugabe and at no point did he try to usurp powers from him, Zanu-PF National Consultative Assembly member Cde Jimayi Muduviri has said.

Speaking to journalists in Harare yesterday, Cde Muduvuri who is also the patron of Zimbabwe Amalgamated Churches Council said he was assigned by President Mnangagwa when he was still Vice President to travel to all provinces to inform people that he was loyal to his then principal.

He said this followed unsubstantiated claims by some social misfits who claimed that Cde Mnangagwa was harbouring Presidential ambitions behind the back of his former boss.

“Cde Mnangagwa assigned me to move around all provinces to establish who was behind those fabrications,” he said.

“I travelled the breadth and length of this country in the company of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans’ Association leadership that included Cdes Victor Matemadanda, Headman Moyo and Douglas Mahiya. We never received any report alleging that Cde Mnangagwa was plotting against his former boss. In any case, what we got was that Cde Mnangagwa was doing everything in his capacity to protect Cde Mugabe.”

Cde Muduvuri described President Mnangagwa as a great leader who withstood all forms of vilification.

“He (President Mnangagwa) was humiliated by (Ms) Sarah Mahoka who equated him to a duck at the Zanu-PF headquarters but he held his temper and kept on smiling.

“I confronted Mahoka over that matter and the likes of (Saviour) Kasukuwere tried to intimidate me but I stood my ground. They labelled me all sorts of names but I stood resolute because I knew President Mnangagwa who was then Vice President had done nothing wrong.

“His crime was his unparalleled stance on the values and ethos of the liberation struggle.”

Cde Muduvuri said as ZACC patron, he was bridging the gap between the church and the political leadership.

He said the apostolic churches were fully behind the new dispensation under the stewardship of President Mnangagwa.

“As the church, we have suffered a lot during the past 37 years and this new era is a welcome move that we fully support. We want the President to assure us freedom of worship and also provide us with land for residential purposes and to worship,” he said.

“We have meetings with bishops from various churches who congratulated President Mnangagwa for assuming both the leadership of Zanu-PF and State Presidency.

“They also hailed the Zimbabwe Defence Forces for executing Operation Restore Legacy in a peaceful manner.”