Denford Magora's Latest Zimbabwe News Blog

Patrick Chinamasa, seen here arriving to present the Budget that dollarised Zimbabwe's economy on 29 January 2009, is one of two senior ministers from Manicaland who are unhappy that the politics of tribal balance have kept the people from that Province from the top leadership of ZANU PF. There is now open rebellion in the province, with the leadership there convinced that Mugabe has something against people from the area. Hence those anti-Mugabe SMS messages at the last ZANU PF Congress in Harare. Harare, Zimbabwe, 05 January 2010 You all know about the Manicaland Province Chairman for ZANU PF, Basil Nyabadza, who was forced out of his job by the ZANU PF leadership, ostensibly for threatening to nominate Didymus Mutasa for National Chairman from the floor at the December ZANU PF Congress. Mugabe has previously and publicly (during the last election) stated that the Manicaland province is a reactionary and rebellious province that has thrown up "traitors" like Tekere, Mak...

Didymus Mutasa, Mugabe's Minister of the Secret Police (CIO), is seen here visiting the spirit medium who claimed to have found diesel issuing from a rock in Chinhoyi. The Minister has now come out to defy Mugabe, saying he is not in a hurry to replace the Provincial Chairman for his home province, who was forced to resign after refusing to rescind his decision to push for Mutasa to be made ZANU PF National Chairman at the Congress held in December 08, despite clear instructions from the Politburo, handed down with Mugabe himself in the chair. Harare, Zimbabwe, 02 January 2010 Didymus Mutasa, the ZANU PF Secretary for Administration and Minister in Charge of the Secret Police (CIO) has defied a directive issued by the ZANU Politburo. You will recall that the Manicaland Provincial Chairman for ZANU PF, Basil Nyabadza, was being used by Mutasa to campaign for the Minister to be made Chairman of the party, saying the position should not be reserved for a Ndebele person from the former...

Robert Mugabe drew blood today at the ongoing ZANU PF Congress in Harare. He pushed for the Manicaland Province Chairman, Basil Nyabadza, to fall in line with other provinces or quit. He quit. Mugabe characterised what Nyabadza was doing as divisive and designed to destroy his cherished unity. Any thoughts of nominating Didymus Mutasa as National Chairman from the floor have thus died. Mugabe has brought the party back into his grip once more. Harare, Zimbabwe, 10 December 2009 So, this blog remains the only medium to have told you about the outburst from Basil Nyabadza, the ZANU PF Manicaland Province chairman, at the church funeral of Didymus Mutasa' son. Yesterday, he got his comeuppance, when the ZANU PF Politburo forced him to either retract his statement or leave his post. He chose to leave his post. Mugabe had been shocked two days ago in Harare by the strength of voices being raised in opposition to Simon Khaya Moyo, especially, as Chairman of Zimbabwe's ruling party. Y...

Robert "The Solution" Mugabe opens the Chirundu One-Stop Border Post on Friday (above). Today, he spent six and a half hours battling to contain a rebellion within the ZANU PF Politburo but managed to triumph in the end. He will be the candidate for ZANU PF in the next election in Zimbabwe. Same old same old. Whichever way you look at it, this is simply delaying the inevitable. Harare, Zimbabwe, 08 December 2009 The ZANU PF politburo met for more than six hours today and made some decisions that would be stunning for those who do not follow this blog. First, let me remind you that when I broke the story of Mugabe's offer to Dumiso Dabengwa for the the post of Vice President of ZANU PF and Zimbabwe, I also mentioned that Mugabe thought highly of Simon Khaya Moyo, the current Zimbabwe ambassador to South Africa. Mugabe was said by my sources at the time to be opposed to Nkomo and would have preferred Dabengwa or even Khaya Moyo, who many considered a non-factor when I menti...