Mugabe to seek another term: minister

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe. A top ally of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has hinted that the 89 year-old leader may run for yet another term in office. PHOTO | AFP  AFP

In Summary

• Mugabe's ally spoke after the long time ruler’s Zanu PF party held provincial elections at the weekend, which according to the local private media, were won by a faction linked to Vice President Joice Mujuru.
• The debate over President Mugabe’s succession has been raging for decades but the ageing leader has not shown any signs he intends to step down anytime soon.

By Kitsepile Nyathi
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A top ally of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe has hinted that the 89 year-old leader may run for yet another term in office.

Presidential Affairs minister Didymus Mutasa dismissed speculation the party’s recent held primary elections were part of a process to choose his successor.

He said the new constitution allowed President Mugabe, in power since 1980, to go for another five year term during the 2018 elections.

He spoke after the long time ruler’s Zanu PF party held provincial elections at the weekend, which according to the local private media, were won by a faction linked to Vice President Joice Mujuru.

According to the reports, the elections left Ms Mujuru the favourite to take over from President Mugabe at the party’s congress next year ahead of Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.

But Mr Mutasa, a loyalist of the president, was quick to pour cold water on the speculation, telling government owned media that those celebrating the outcome of the polls were doing so prematurely.

“The thing to note is that Baba (President Mugabe) was elected for his first term under the new constitution at the July 31 harmonised elections and the constitutions allows him to go for the second term,” he said

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“How can you succeed someone who has just started serving his term?

“We conduct provincial elections after every four years and then in the fifth year, we have a congress to elect the national leadership.

“The provincial elections are a constitutional requirement and not about succession as claimed by those papers.

“Tell those people who say the elections were about succession that Mutasa says; ‘let not your imaginations run wild.

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DEBATE ON MUGABE’S SUCCESSION

The debate over President Mugabe’s succession has been raging for decades but the ageing leader has not shown any signs he intends to step down anytime soon.

Mr Mutasa said the Zimbabwean leader’s age was not an issue as there had been older presidents in history.

“It becomes a problem when you start saying he must be succeeded now when he has just started,” he said.

“Does the press determine his strength? Is it the press that has taken him this far? If you read in the Bible, there are some people who went beyond 100 years but still ruled. Why can’t it be repeated?”
However, Information minister Jonathan Moyo refused to blame the media for the frenzied speculation over President Mugabe’s succession that followed the provincial elections.

“It would be wrong to blame those sections of the media that are doing this because they are reporting what they are being told by some of our own comrades who have for reasons known only to them taken these elections in succession terms and who have been privately and even publicly celebrating or mourning the results on grounds that their succession candidate has either won or lost as the case maybe,” he said.

“I, therefore, don’t think anything will be gained by blaming or attacking the media as that will be no better than attacking the messenger when the better thing to do is to listen to the message even if it is unpalatable or plain wrong.

“The media is doing its job by honestly reporting what it is being told.”

Both Ms Mujuru and Mr Mnangagwa have been forced to publicly deny persistent reports that they lead factions jostling to succeed President Mugabe.