"Cde Edgar Tekere has opened a can of worms and we need to study those worms!" For the other blogs by Rev M S Hove, please kindly click on "View my complete profile" below!


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"MDCs PLEASE JOIN MAKONI" PLEADS TEKERE!!!

Edgar Tekere, a Zanu-PF founding member and the organisation’s secretary general until his expulsion in 1989, yesterday appealed to the Movement for Democratic Change parties to set their differences aside and rally behind Dr Simba Makoni’s bid to unseat President Robert Mugabe.
Makoni, a Zanu-PF politburo member until his dismissal from the party yesterday, announced this week that he will challenge Mugabe in next month's presidential election.
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Zimbabwean women want Dignity.Period!

Serious Mugabe......very, very serious!

Serious Mugabe......very, very serious!
"In fact....the bottom line is to die in power for fear of the people's anger!"

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Credit goes to Newzimbabwe.com (and other websites!)

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These postings are mainly from newzimbabwe.com and any other sites which will be acknowledged! Just feast as you go along!

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I look for "The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" at all times.

Thursday 26 April 2007

"DOES MUGABE WANT ALL OF US TO BE HIS WIVES?"

http://www.thezimbabwean.co.uk/viewinfo.cfm?linkcategoryid=3&linkid=8&id=4174

Patrick Kombayi, one of the leaders of the movement that fought the liberation war and later became the first black mayor of Gweru believes his former teacher President Robert Mugabe was corrupted by absolute power. He also blames the people of Zimbabwe collectively for the current problems bedevilling the country. He speaks to our special correspondent.
SC-On March 24, 1990 you survived an assassination attempt by two CIO officers, Alias Kanengoni and Kizito Chivamba, who were sentenced to seven years in imprisonment but then pardoned by Mugabe through the use of Presidential powers of clemency. What is your view of the powers Mugabe wields under the current constitution?
PK- Mugabe and I never saw eye to eye again from the moment I said we had to give it to a people's congress to elect the leader of ZANU whilst he wanted to grab the position. Then came the elections of 1990 where I stood against his handpicked Vice President, Simon Muzenda and before which I was almost killed by the CIO people. I wasn't surprised by the pardon knowing Mugabe as I do. He wanted me eliminated. He allowed the election to be held in the constituency despite me fighting for my life in a Bulawayo hospital. If it was in progressive democratic countries, the election could have been postponed. Despite that, I won. The people who were counting the votes called me straight from the command centre to congratulate me. However, Tobaiwa Mudede when announcing his own version of results gave my 14 000 votes to Muzenda and gave me his 8000 votes, 2000 of which he claimed had come from postal votes by army members fighting in Mozambique. He failed to justify such a shocking claim when I challenged it.
SC-What role do you think your ZUM party played in moulding Zimbabwe's current so-called multi-party democracy?
PK-We definitely managed to stop the system of one-party-state. We didn't form ZUM because we wanted to rule at the time. We knew Mugabe was still popular and had not yet made many mistakes as is the case now. Even when we formed the Forum party, the main purpose was to stop the one-party-state system.
Having experienced Kaunda and Nyerere failing with the one-party-state system we decided with some international cooperation from some Front Line leaders to form ZUM and FORUM.
SC-You were the first black Mayor in post-independent Zimbabwe. What is your view of local governance in Zimbabwe at the moment?
PK-It is no longer local governance. It is now Mugabe's type of rule where the people that were democratically elected into the local councils kicked out to be replaced by appointed commissions.
But consider this: Sekesai Makwavarara leading the Harare Commission after the ouster of Elias Mudzuri quit the liberation movement together with Nathan Shamuyarira to form FROLIZI. Ignatius Chombo, who is orchestrating all this chaos, was also a member of FROLIZI. He is picking his former FROLIZI colleagues to fill the commissions.
SC-You worked closely with Mugabe during the liberation struggle in Zambia. Do you think he still remembers the reasons you went to war for?
PK-Yes, he still remembers. The only problem is that he is a politician with hunger for power. He got absolute power, which corrupt absolutely. But I don't blame him alone because we the people of Zimbabwe have contributed to this mess.
Let me cite some few examples. He sent soldiers to Mozambique without approval from parliament. We don't even know how much was spent there, even the number of casualties. We remained quiet.
He did the same with the war in the DRC, where my brother Col Kufa died and the story was the same. Zimbabweans didn't do or say anything.
When we got independence we received a lot of money such as that from ZIMCORD. We don't even know how much it was, only Mugabe and Chidzero did and the account is still private to Mugabe. We never questioned.
Even the money which came from Britain for de-mobilisation of our army members was never accounted for. There was looting of state funds by ZANU PF as a party as well as money from NSSA and ZIMDEF without us questioning and that is why I blame the people of Zimbabwe.
SC-You are now MDC secretary for Gweru. Do you think the MDC has the intellectual clarity and gravitas to form the next government?
PK-If intellectual abilities are what determined the capacity to provide good leadership, then the MDC has the right material because there are many intellectuals in the party. But in my view, it is not merely academic power that matters in leadership but the need for good policies, which the MDC has as well. The leadership of the MDC is very capable of implementing these policies. I am confident because we work as a team in the party, guided by a clear constitution.
SC-Founding Zanu (PF) secretary general Edgar Tekere has just published an autobiography claiming Mugabe was a reluctant recruit into the liberation struggle. How accurate is Tekere's narration of events?
PK-Very accurate. Remember it was Tekere, Eddison Zvobgo, Enos Nkala, Morris Nyagumbo, Rex Nhongo, Herbert Ushewokunze and sometimes myself who could manage to stand up to Mugabe and tell him the truth after he had made himself very powerful in Zanu. Hence all of us became his enemies. I remember Nkala saying 'khati hau madoda uMugabe ufuna ukusiyenza abafasi bakhe yini? (Mugabe wants all of us to be his wives).'


 


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Friday 20 April 2007

ABIGAIL MPISA'S PERSPECTIVE OF MUGABE, TEKERE !

Mawere and 'the hand that profitably fed him'
 
 
 
 

Masawi threatened over Tekere book

Tekere unfazed by Zanu PF expulsion threats

Hysterical reaction to Tekere belies fear

Book shop won't sell Tekere book

Tekere absolves Mugabe of Tongogara's killing

'We produced a creature that destroyed this country' - Nkala

Tekere says Mugabe 'insecure' in new book
By Abigail Mphisa

Last updated: 01/24/2007 03:22:41
 
 

HAVING
read Edgar Tekere's book, I did not get the impression that we were being told that Robert Mugabe did not have a mind of his on, which got me asking; did your columnist Mutumwa Mawere actually read it?
It is dangerous to join a debate based on a book that one has not read. He has concluded that Tekere sought to re-write history. In order for anyone at all to make such a categorical statement against liberation stalwarts like Tekere, it then becomes necessary to provide readers with sources of accurate records of the liberation struggle.
What exactly are the "misunderstood democratic values" that the country appears to be in search of? If, in accordance with Mawere's views, Mugabe does possess democratic values, why is there overwhelming evidence to the contrary? I personally would need specific examples.
A democratic leader would not have abolished the post of Prime Minister and become an executive president without seeking the mandate of the Zimbabwean people. He would not have unilaterally sent Zimbabwean soldiers to their deaths in the jungles of the Congo and pulled Zimbabwe out of the Commonwealth because he was being asked to adhere to the Harare Declaration. The ascendancy of Joice Mujuru to the deputy presidency was undemocratic. People were dismissed from the party for seeking to exercise their democratic right to lobby for a candidate of their choice. The list of undemocratic actions carried out by Mugabe is endless and Mawere knows it.
I hold no brief for Jonathan Moyo. In my view, he played a pivotal role in the economic and political demise of Zimbabwe. Anyone who conjures up laws such as AIPPA, calls it an excellent piece of legislation and goes on to actively support POSA is downright evil. He was an active participant of the land reform project, claiming it would create 800 000 jobs and some say he was a multiple farm owner. He was determined to see the destruction of Kondozi Estates and the fact that many former workers were abandoned along the highway to Mutare did not move him. In fact, I do believe a Jonathan Moyo with power would be an extremely dangerous person. He proved it beyond any reasonable doubt during his five year reign of terror while in government.
But, to claim that in his piece "Hysterical reaction to Tekere belies fear", Moyo sought to defend Tekere sounds illogical. Defend him from what and whom exactly?
ZANU was never really a democratic force. One only needs to compare it with the ANC of South Africa, or even ZAPU. If ZANU had been democratic, amendments to the Lancaster House constitution would have been those meant to strengthen democratic institutions instead of creating a dictatorship, as has been the case in the majority of the 17 amendments. Who exactly are those people who want their versions of history to be the only ones in relation to how leaders in Africa ought to be selected?
Here is one statement that I had to read several times because I genuinely thought that a person of Mawere's intellect cannot possibly believe in it; "We do not have any record of Mugabe being comfortable as a beneficiary of an opaque selection process or seeking to avoid elections." Where has this gentleman been? Zimbabwe might not have missed a single election but, apart from the reprehensible and downright barbaric manner in which our elections are conducted, the electoral laws themselves are meant to ensure that Mugabe remains in power. Only a democratic coward could have enacted such laws. Whether Mawere likes it or not, Mugabe and his lieutenants are indeed afraid of the vote. Very much so! Here are a few examples;
Excessive use of force by Zanu PF More than 150 people died in the run up to the 2000 and 2002 parliamentary and presidential elections respectively. In one example Tichaona Chiminya and Talent Mabika of MDC were petrol bombed in their campaign vehicle in broad day light and they died in the inferno. The alleged murderer was one Joseph Mwale, a CIO operative who has never been brought to trial. Not a single statement was issued by Mugabe condemning the violence. He had in fact, at a rally in Manicaland, proclaimed that "death will befall you", a message intended for all those who were bent on opposing his party.
Downright rigging happens in our elections. Margaret Dongo proved it in the case of Sunningndale. Bernard Chidzero congratulated Henry Hamadziripi for having won Harare Central in the 1990 elections but was surprised later to be told he had won because some postal votes from somewhere were added to his lot. More recently in 2000 Zanu PF victory was nullified in the case of more than twenty constituencies. Needless to say the Zanu PF parliamentarians in question did not vacate their seats because they appealed and not surprisingly, the appeals were never heard.
It has also been proved that Zanu PF uses food as a weapon against peasants who may wish to support the opposition.
Opposition parties cannot campaign freely. Under POSA, they hardly ever get permission to assemble. In the event of permission being granted, their rallies are often violently disrupted by the Mugabe sponsored youth militia.
The voters' roll has always been a bone of contention because it has always been a shambles. The Registrar General consistently refuses to provide electronic copies and the costs of securing hard copies are prohibitive. It has been proven that dead people do in fact participate in our elections.
Mawere has to be aware of the implications of the Citizenship Act which was passed into law just before the 2002 presidential elections with the enthusiastic support of Jonathan Moyo, one might add. Millions of Zimbabweans by birth were deprived of their right to vote because this new piece of legislation claims that because their parents were born elsewhere, they are deemed to belong to their parents' countries of birth. Twisted logic indeed. Jonathan Moyo now views it as a "primitive" law, even though he supported its enactment.
In the 2005 parliamentary elections, observers were only invited from countries whose favourable views were a foregone conclusion. Mugabe personally vetoed the invitation list. It was as if he was inviting people to something as private as a wedding.
I did not get to vote in the presidential elections of 2002 despite investing 21 hours of my time in a queue. For some inexplicable reason we were simply tear gassed from the polling station. Voting stations in urban areas had been drastically reduced so there were only 60% of the 2000 numbers.
Mugabe single handedly appoints the Electoral Supervisory Commissioners.
One could go on and on. There is overwhelming evidence that we did not elect Robert Mugabe to be our leader in 2002. For that Mawere should turn to the numerous reports by international observers. One of them, in fact that of the Commonwealth observer group, partly explains why we are no longer a member of that body. Mugabe was incensed that a fellow African, a Nigerian, authored a report that questioned his democratic credentials. The fact that we allowed Mugabe to stay in power even though we did not vote for him is a different story altogether and has been and continues to be debated at different fora. And by the way, if Mugabe was not afraid of elections he would not be seeking to extend his term by another two years to 2010 in the name of harmonizing parliamentary and presidential elections. Why not harmonize in 2008?
Mawere argues that Mugabe's behaviour is consistent with that of a democrat. If Mugabe believed that the move to remove Ndabaningi Sithole from power was undemocratic, why did he not speak out against it? How come Sithole's remains are not interred at the national shrine when in fact Mugabe is the only one who decides who gets buried there? Without listing them, Mawere also alludes to values that inform Mugabe's choices. For examples, what values informed his choices when he gave land to people who are unable to utilise it so that Zimbabwe is now a basket case when less than a decade ago we used to export food? What values informed his decision to award $3 billion dollars to ex-combatants against the advice of his Minister of finance, thereby triggering an unprecedented economic downfall?
It is patently dishonest to say when Tekere set up his own political party Mugabe allowed him to compete freely for the national space. Patrick Kombayi, the then ZUM candidate for Gweru urban nearly lost his life at the hands of Mugabe's henchmen. His crime was to dare exercise his democratic right against Simon Muzenda. Elias Kanengoni and Kizito Chivamba (head of CIO for Midlands and ZANU P.F. youth league member respectively) were found guilty of attempted murder. Instead of condemning such acts of senseless violence, Mugabe pardoned the culprits. What sort of message does that send and what does it say about Mugabe's democratic credentials when an individual whose salary is paid for by the tax payer commits a heinous crime and is immediately shielded from jail?
Contrary to Mawere's assertion under the heading "Disclosure Two", Moyo did not express the view that Mugabe should have been eternally grateful to people who propelled him to the throne. He simply pointed out that Mugabe marginalised anyone whom he viewed as a potential contender to the throne. This point of view, one might argue, is actually borne by facts. For example, how would Mugabe explain the selective sacking of Maurice Nyagumbo, Dzingai Mutumbuka and Enos Nkala in the aftermath of the Willowgate scandal? In the case of Nyagumbo, Mugabe's heartlessness could not have been better demonstrated. Nyagumbo offered to resign as soon as his name appeared in the press. Mugabe begged him to stay, arguing that he would feel abandoned since he viewed Nyagumbo as one of his closest confidants.
However, when public and international opinion expressed disgust over the issue, Mugabe felt the need to fire a few people and Nyagumbo was identified as one such scapegoat. The three were not the only ones who had misused the Willowvale motor vehicle facility. There were a host of others, among them Mugabe's late wife Sally Mugabe. By asserting that a president of a country should put national interests above those of the party, it is as if Mawere actually believes that Mugabe adheres to this principle. Since when has Mugabe ever put Zimbabwe's interests above those of Zanu PF? It is an open secret that Zanu PF dips into state coffers with impunity and civil servants are often coerced to fund party activities.
Mawere, for whatever reason, might decide to see no evil and hear no evil, but Mugabe does come out as an evil and vengeful leader. Twenty thousand people perished in Matabeleland between 1980 and 1987. Those who oversaw the bloodbath were rewarded with promotion. In June 2005 seven hundred thousand people (18% of Zimbabwe's population) were rendered homeless through the infamous operation Murambatsvina. In excess of 2 million people were indirectly affected by that operation. Only an evil leader can do that to his own people! His treatment of Joshua Nkomo, one of the luminaries of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle, was downright evil.
Under "Disclosure Three" Mawere questions Moyo's support for the view that Mugabe is 90% responsible for the mess that our country is in. The point is, we may quibble over percentages but being leader means being responsible for the direction that one's country takes, warts and all. Mugabe literally sowed seeds of corruption and nursed them to fruition. Now our country boasts being in the top 30 most corrupt countries in the world.
Gideon Gono drives a US$138 000 vehicle because those are the values that Mugabe inculcated into the national psyche. Mugabe is driven in a custom made bullet proof vehicle which at the time of purchase was said to be the fourth such vehicle on the continent. The vehicle was purchased at a time when the fuel situation had started to bite and 4 million Zimbabweans needed food. He is escorted by a fleet of no less than ten vehicles. He has two state houses opposite each other in Harare, apart from the fact that he now has a private home in Borrowdale where he is making life miserable for his neighbours. Let us not forget that Ian Smith drove around in a Peugeot 504!! So, what percentage in terms of blameworthiness would Mawere rather attribute to Mugabe?
I am not too sure what Mawere's problem is regarding Moyo's New Year resolution. Why on earth does he believe that 2007 is a year of action for Zanu PF only? How does Moyo's designation of 2007 as a year of action translate into an assertion that Zimbabweans should expect it to be a better year? Mawere argues that Moyo got it wrong on Tsholotsho hence he cannot possibly get it right on 2007. What kind of logic is this? Isn't life about sometimes getting things wrong and at other times getting them right? Besides, what exactly did Moyo get wrong about Tsholotsho? The long and short of it was that a group of people got together to put together a strategy to have their preferred candidate elected and were punished for it. If anything, Tsholotsho confirmed Mugabe's high handedness and lack of respect for the constitution of his own party.
In the end, the debate shifted from issues raised in Tekere's book to an attack on Moyo's hypocrisy. The bottom line is, Mawere is of the opinion that Moyo should not criticise the hand that profitably fed him. How tragic. For me the big question that Mawere should have asked, instead of accusing Tekere of re-writing history (sadly, without providing evidence that this is indeed the case) is, why has Mugabe remained mum? Why are people falling all over themselves to defend a man who is very much alive and has all the resources to make himself heard?
Mawere does seem to have joined the list of Mugabe's praise singers. Could there be truth in that he was a beneficiary of the Zanu PF patronage machinery hence his reluctance to criticise – to use his own words – "the hand that profitably fed him", with the hope that his properties may be returned to him?
By the way, I did read the numerous articles in which Mawere sought to rubbish the view that he benefited from being well connected to those at the top of the Zanu PF hierarchy. I am saying this so that he does not feel the need to tell his side of the story once more. At the end of the day, after having advocated that people should avoid getting personal when debating issues of national importance, Mawere failed dismally to adhere to that principle. The starting point should at least have been to read the book.
Abigail Mphisa writes from Bulawayo. She can be contacted on


 


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MASAWI SURVIVES TEKERE TURMOIL!

Masawi survives Tekere turmoil
 

Staff Reporter
 
http://www.fingaz.co.zw/story.aspx?stid=2899

ZANU PF deputy information secretary, Ephraim Masawi, appears to have escaped unscathed by the farce that gripped his party over Edgar Tekere's controversial memoirs for which the maverick nationalist was sacked from the party.

ZANU PF's influential youth league had recommended that Masawi, the Mashonaland Central governor, be suspended for attending the launch of a book by former nationalist Tekere, which dims President Robert Mugabe's liberation war credentials.
John Nkomo, ZANU PF chairman and head of the party's national disciplinary committee, had indicated that the matter was in the hands of Masawi's Mashonaland Central province.
However, Chen Chimutengwende, leader of the party's Mashonaland Central provincial structure, said his province was not handling the matter.
"Chimutengwende said Masawi would be treated differently from Tekere since the latter had been an ordinary member, whereas Masawi held a position of authority in ZANU PF.
The Masawi saga had opened up rifts in the party, with one faction latching on to the controversy to push for ZANU PF Guruve Member of Parliament Edward Chindori-Chininga to replace the ruling party deputy information secretary.
Chindori-Chininga, a former minister of mines and mining development, was dropped from President Mugabe's Cabinet in 2004.
But, according to Chimutengwende: "There are no vacancies yet."
The ZANU PF youth league had felt that Masawi "failed to defend the party's first secretary", leaving the task to people such as opposition activist Patrick Kombayi.


 


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Monday 9 April 2007

TEKERE THREATENS TO SUE THE STATE MEDIA!

Tekere remains unfazed, threatens to sue state media

http://www.zimbabwejournalists.com/story.php?art_id=1636&cat=4

   

By Ian Nhuka

MUTARE - Maverick war veteran, Edgar Tekere, embroiled in a storm over his book that fires broadsides at President Robert Mugabe's leadership style, does not care about the criticism he is receiving from Zanu PF or threats to expel him from the party he helped found in the 1960s.
Tekere, a nationalist and respected Mutare-based war veteran, told
zimbabwejournalists.com in an interview here Tuesday that while he accepted reasonable criticism, he did not like "malicious statements" carried by sections of the State-controlled media since he triggered the on-going national debate when he launched his book some two weeks ago.
He threatened to sue some government-controlled media outlets for defamation over some stories they have carried since he unveiled his controversial book.
He did not specify the offending statements or the media outlets that
he thinks defamed him. Tekere charged at his critics saying they were rushing to criticise him, but some of them have not read his autobiography, "A Lifetime of Struggle," which was edited by Dr Ibbo Mandaza, an academic of note.
He said: "They are falling over each other to please Mugabe by attacking me.  Some of them have not even read the book.  You can see that from their arguments, which I think are not informed at all."
In the book, Tekere says President Mugabe is a weak person, adding he is responsible for the economic crisis gripping the country.  He regrets playing an leading role in elevating President Mugabe to head Zanu during the liberation war.
Over the weekend, the Zanu –PF Youth League, asked the ruling party leadership to expel Tekere from the party, a little over a year after he was re-admitted into the fold.
His readmission came after many years spent in the political wilderness following his decision to wind up the Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM), a party he founded to challenge Mugabe in the 1990.
The youth league also proposed punishment to be meted on some leading party officials who attended the launch of Tekere's book, among them Mashonaland Central governor and Zanu – PF deputy politburo secretary for information and publicity, Ephriam Masawi.
The party leadership is now considering the request for Tekere's
expulsion, according to reports in the public media yesterday, which quoted senior officials.
"I do not care if they expel me," said Tekere. "If they do, that will further show that there is no democracy and freedom of speech in Zanu PF.  The book contains my personal opinions about the
war.  So why will I be punished for my opinions?"
Last week, a State-controlled weekend newspaper said in its lead story Tekere was not a serious person since "he suffered bouts of mental instability in the past."
The newspaper quoted George Rutanhire, a war veteran and former deputy minister who said:
"Tekere munhu akamborwara (Tekere once suffered mental instability)."
Another publicly-owned newspaper followed up the story, scorching
Tekere's claims that he was personally instrumental in the rise of President Mugabe during the liberation war.
It said freedom fighters, through the Mgagao Declaration of 1976,
collectively made the decision to elevate President Mugabe to the post of interim Zanu leader, replacing the late party president, Ndabaningi Sithole who had been sacked for alleged prevarication.
Tekere has often ruffled the feather of senior party members.  At some stage in the late 1980s, he clashed with President Mugabe over his dictatorial leadership style and his failure to curb corruption.
That precipitated his expulsion in 1988, after which he formed ZUM.  His party contested in the 1990 elections and won a number of parliamentary seats and did well in the presidential race.
However, the party soon fizzled out after the violence-ridden poll but
the veteran politician still commands respect from the Zanu – PF ranks.
Now, he spends most of his time in Mutare or at his horticulture farm,
near Old Mutare.
In the interview with Zimbabwejournalists.com, Tekere also lashed out at police commissioner, Augustine Chihuri and presidential spokesman, George Charamba, for attacking him in the media.
Charamba, is widely believed to be the writer of a weekly column, The Other Side, published on Saturdays in The Herald under a pseudonym.
The column recently savaged Tekere soon after he launched his book, claiming that he did not have the moral ground to criticise Mugabe who, according to Charamba, salvaged him (Tekere) from financial ruin a few years ago.
In his newspaper interview with The Herald, Chihuri said Tekere has a history of violence, mental instability and is an alcoholic.
But Tekere remains unfazed.
"These people are attacking me but they do not know that they are
committing a serious offence of defamation.  I am considering suing them for defamation and the publishers involved.  Some of their criticism is malicious," he blasted.
Tekere was readmitted into Zanu PF late 2005 but was barred from
seeking election to any post in the party for five years.
It is because of that condition that he was barred from contesting in
the senate polls that were held in November 2005.
"I am not bitter about the party's decision to bar me from holding any post although I think it doesn not make sense.  However, I will remain a card-carrying party member. --- I have heard some people saying that I am criticising Mugabe in my book and at other forums because of that decision.  That is not true.  --- I started writing this book seven years ago, so it is false that the criticism of Mugabe is an attempt to get revenge on my part," he said.


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Tuesday 3 April 2007

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT CDE EDGAR TEKERE!


  Tekere, Edgar
 
CANDIDATE DETAILS
 
Affiliation ZANU - Patriotic Front   
Name Edgar Tekere
Address
, , Zimbabwe
Email None
Website None
Born 00, 1937
Died Still Living (70 years)
Contributor Pimpalicious
Last Modifed Thomas Walker
Feb 21, 2007 03:58pm
Tags
Info Edgar Zivanai Tekere (born 1937) is a Zimbabwean politician. He was a leader of the Zimbabwe African National Union who organised the party during the Lancaster House talks and served briefly in government before his popularity as a potential rival to Robert Mugabe caused their estrangement. He fought against Mugabe in the 1990 election and was heavily defeated, but remained involved in politics and has recently rejoined ZANU (PF).

Tekere was an early ally of Robert Mugabe within the Zimbabwe African National Union (of which he was a founder member in 1964) during the fight for independence and against the Rhodesian Front government of Ian Smith. Mugabe and Tekere went together into Mozambique in 1975 to launch the war against Rhodesia, and Tekere was appointed as Secretary-General of ZANU.

When ZANU won the 1980 elections, Tekere was appointed Manpower Planning Minister from 1980 in Mugabe's Cabinet. He followed his appointment by making a series of outspoken speeches which went far beyond government policy. Shortly after his appointment, on August 4, 1980, he greeted Mugabe (then Prime Minister) and visiting President of Mozambique, Samora Machel in combat fatigues and announced that he was going "to fight a battle". Tekere and his bodyguards went looking for supporters of Joshua Nkomo's ZAPU outside Harare, but failing to find them, went onto a neighbouring farm and shot a white farm manager called Gerald Adams.

Tekere retained his government post when he went on trial together with seven bodyguards who were all former guerilla fighters in the independence war. On December 8 the High Court, on a majority decision, found him not guilty of murder. Two out of the three assessors held that while Tekere had killed Adams, he was acting in connection with the suppression of terrorism.

Tekere was dismissed from the government on January 11, 1981, a decision he was reported to be happy with; he retained the Secretary-Generalship of ZANU. In April 1981 he was detained by Kenyan security forces to prevent him from speaking to students after giving a newspaper interview in which he said he was proud of the killing of Gerald Adams. In July, Tekere referred to some ZANU representatives as having "inherited the colonial mentality", which was straining relations between them and the party's supporters. Mugabe hit back by saying "Those who are complaining that the revolution is not continuing .. are the most immoral and laziest in the party". Tekere was increasingly seen as a leader of a rival faction to Mugabe, and was dismissed as Secretary-General on August 9 with Mugabe taking the post himself.

When Mugabe launched 'Operation Gukurahundi' against Joshua Nkomo's supporters in Matabeleland in 1982, Tekere voiced his support for the action as necessary to prevent "a Biafra situation". After criticising corruption in the party, in August 1984 Tekere was elected to the Central Committee of ZANU (PF) and carried shoulder-high from the Congress; he was also being supported by the Whites in Zimbabwe after opposing the farm squattings by ZANU (PF) supporters which he described as "donga watonga" (chaotic government). He was provincial chairman of ZANU (PF) in Mutare.

Tekere supported Mugabe at the 1985 elections but by October 1988 his consistent criticism of corruption resulted in his expulsion from the party. When Mugabe voiced his belief that Zimbabwe would be better governed as a one party state, Tekere strongly disagreed, saying "A one-party state was never one of the founding principles of ZANU(PF) and experience in Africa has shown that it brought the evils of nepotism, corruption and inefficiency".

He ran against Robert Mugabe in the 1990 Presidential race as the candidate of the Zimbabwe Unity Movement, offering a broadly free market platform against Mugabe's communist-style economic planning. Mugabe won the election on April 1, 1990 receiving 2,026,976 votes while Tekere only got 413,840 (16% of the vote). At the simultaneous Parliamentary elections the ZUM won 20% of the vote but only two seats in the House of Assembly. Zimbabwe Unity Movement supporters were the targets of violent attacks from supporters of ZANU (PF), and five candidates were murdered, a student represantative Israel Mutanhaurwa of ZUM was abducted in broad daylight by suspected state agents at the local cinemas in Gweru to be dumped later in the outskirts of Mkoba a local surbub unharmed, noone was arrested or convicted of the crime. Those convicted of the attempted murder of former Gweru Mayor Patrick Kombayi who was shot in lower abdomen but survived the shooting, were pardoned immediately afterwards.

Tekere dropped out of sight after the election, fuelling rumours that he was planted as an opposition figure. In 2005 he voiced his wish to stand as a ZANU (PF) candidate for the Senate of Zimbabwe but was rebuffed. In 2006 it was reported that he had rejoined ZANU (PF). A letter sent to him by ZANU (PF) national chairman John Nkomo dated April 7, 2006 said "You will not exercise your right to be elected to any office in the party for a period of five years. You will be required to uphold all the duties of a member listed in Article 3, Section 18 of the amended Zanu PF constitution".

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TEKERE: "ZANU-PF's SUPPORT FOR MUGABE A DISASTER!"

Zimbabwe's Ruling Party Backs President Robert Mugabe In 2008 Run

April 2, 2007 1:27 p.m. EST

Ihuoma Ezeh - All Headline News
 
Harare, Zimbabwe (AHN) -
 
The Zanu-PF party, Zimbabwe's ruling political party, is supporting President Robert Mugabe in his run in the 2008 election.
The news came as two opposing party factions were eager for Mugabe to stand down in order to end the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe.
Nathan Shamuyarira, the party's spokesman, announced in a meeting in Harare that the party was endorsing Mugabe as its candidate for the 2008 election.
"The resolution was accepted by the central committee," Shamuyarira said. "The candidate for the party in 2008 will be the president himself."
Edgar Tekere, a Zimbawean veteran, said endorsing Mugabe would be a disaster.
"They are engaging in their madness of singing 'Mugabe, Mugabe!' That's no good for the country and for the party," allafrica.com quotes Tekere as saying. "It means we are going to continue to sink."
Peter Biles, BBC's southern Africa correspondent, said Mugabe's critics are convinced that his leadership is strongly damaging the country, and that with the economy out of control, Mugabe should step down.
The Movement for Democratic Change, an activist group in Zimbabwe, said the news was shocking.
Mugabe, 83, has been president since 1980, when Zimbabwe obtained its independence from Britain.


 


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