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V.P Mujuru

Lovemore Mataire Harare Bureau
VICE-President Joice Mujuru’s camp, which has been plotting to unseat President Mugabe, has been rocked by massive defections of senior backers begging for mercy to be accepted back into the party.Acting Zanu-PF Mashonaland Central chairperson Cde Wonder Mashange said he had been inundated with requests from people who were active backers of the Vice-President pleading to be accepted into the party structures, saying they had been misled.

“Yes, a number of them are coming back but it’s not convenient for me to reveal to you the names. But as a province, there’s very little that we can do if they’ve been rejected by the people,” said Cde Mashange.

Sources said Cdes Edgar Chidavaenzi, Sydney Chidamba and David Butau, have formally lodged their letters of contrition, saying that they were committed to serving the party and not individuals.

Notable people who have thrown the gauntlet in Mashonaland West include the ousted chairperson Cde Temba Mliswa, who is believed to have approached some senior Politburo members pleading to be accepted back into the party.

It is believed that Cde Mliswa said he was unaware of the covert operations that VP Mujuru and his other backers were plotting against President Mugabe.

In Harare, Cde Tendai Savanhu is also believed to have intimated that the magnitude of the allegations that the Vice-President was facing were so serious that it was becoming an unenviable task to continue to be identified with her.

In Masvingo, a number of pro-Vice-President Mujuru politicians have also appealed to the leadership to give them a second chance as they said they were genuine party cadres who were simply misled by people who had their own ulterior motives.

It was the same situation in Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South and in the Midlands Province where a number of those who were backing VP Mujuru have backed down after their names were rejected for accreditation and also failed to win places in the central committee.

In a recent interview, chairman of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association Cde Chris Mutsvangwa urged VP Mujuru not to hold to ransom those that were supporting her saying they belonged to Zanu-PF.

He said most of those who were backing Cde Mujuru thinking that she had an autonomous parallel source of power have since realised that hers was simply delegated power.

“She was appointed Vice-President of the Republic of Zimbabwe by President Mugabe who has the power to revoke the mandate bestowed to her on the basis of incompetence and other such misdemeanours,” said Cde Mutsvangwa.

The defections by pro-Mujuru supporters come in the wake of reports that a number of senior Zanu-PF leaders have had their CVs rejected by provincial election directorates in the 10 provinces on the basis that they doubted their commitment and loyalty to the party and President Mugabe.