HARARE - President Robert Mugabe yesterday lashed out at Media, Information and Broadcasting Services minister Jonathan Moyo accusing him of using the State media to sow seeds of acrimony in Zanu PF.
Addressing mourners at the funeral of the late veteran nationalist and former Information minister Nathan Shamuyarira, Mugabe tore into Moyo, saying he was using his intellect to deceive Zanu PF supporters to think that he was loyal.
Mugabe stunned mourners gathered at Shamuyarira’s funeral in Borrowdale. He said Moyo was trying to divide Zanu PF from within.
The former scribe-cum-politician died at West End Hospital on Wednesday and will be buried at the National Heroes Acre today.
Mugabe said unlike Moyo, Shamuyarira was a model Information minister who always made efforts to ensure that the party’s views were given prominence.
“The views that he published were the views of the party. I am saying this in light of what is happening now where our minister of Information wants to pit leaders of the party against each other,” said Mugabe.
The 90-year-old Zanu PF leader seemed to regret ever bringing Moyo back in the party after he was sacked for allegedly fanning factionalism following the infamous Tsholotsho declaration in 2004, which sought to block Joice Mujuru’s ascendency to vice presidency.
Mugabe had no kind words for Moyo.
“If we have such in our midst, we fish them out. You do not use counter-revolutionary people who only yesterday were condemning the party and put them at the forefront,” said Mugabe, in apparent reference to the appointment of new editors at the State-run Zimpapers whom Mugabe said were fierce critics of Zanu PF and the party’s policies.
Mugabe further tore into Moyo accusing him of being counter-revolutionary and retrogressive by employing the journalists in question.
Efforts to get a comment from Moyo yesterday were in vain as he did not pick up his mobile phone.
He reportedly spent the whole day in Bulawayo yesterday attending to family business and returned to Harare in the evening.
It emerged that in the politburo meeting on Wednesday, some Zanu PF heavyweights, mostly from the Joice Mujuru faction in the battle to succeed Mugabe, expressed displeasure with the role of the State media which they said is now in the hands of journalists who were peddling the regime change agenda in the country.
They openly accused Moyo of using his stranglehold on the State media to dig into the Mujuru faction which is reportedly battling with the other group allegedly led by Emmerson Mnangagwa in the battle to succeed Mugabe.
Mugabe said he was very angry with his ministers whom he said were dishonest and deceptive.
“This opportunism is crooked and deceptive, this is an angry time, a time of real anger, a time where I am terribly, terribly disappointed by some of our leaders, I can count them, they are proud of what we suffered for,” Mugabe lamented, adding “Intellectuals, don’t try to use your intelligence to deceive. We are simple people, we want honesty and truth.”