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Breaking the silence - Rebels split over bags of money & attempt
to buy ZINASU
Zimbabwe
National Students Union (ZINASU)
May 06, 2010
The Zimbabwe National
Students Union (ZINASU) rebels split with the secretariat over bitter
disagreements on the money they were supposed to be paid for the
campaign to change the MDC leadership at next year's third
congress. It has emerged that the secretariat allegedly promised
the rebel leaders a fee of 1000 dollars each to embark on a nationwide
tour to lobby support for change of leadership at the party congress.
The secretariat was working under the instructions of the embattled
lawyer (Mafume) who has also been fingered as a divisive hand in
the party internal struggles. The lawyer has long term presidential
ambitions and he believes that it would be easier for him to grab
power from the current Secretary-General (BITI) once he is
President.
The rebels were distributing
fliers at Midlands State University urging students to 'vote
for one of our own' apparently referring to the Party Secretary
General, a former student leader, without his knowledge. The problem
started last Friday when the secretariat only paid out fifty dollars
to each of the rebel leaders. This infuriated the rebels who suspected
that the secretariat had stolen some of the bags of money as their
lifestyle had changed in the past weeks.
However, the information
we have is that the embattled lawyer did not abandon his plan but
ditched the secretariat after theft allegations to deal directly
with the rebel leaders. The rebels agreed to continue with the mission
on the condition that the secretariat is expelled for the money
they stole. In order to strengthen the 'vote one of our own'
campaign the lawyer, with help of some western Embassies has thrown
bags of money to some of the ZINASU leaders to join the rebels in
the campaign. This is because he has realised that the rebels are
out of touch with grassroots after losing recent elections in colleges.
This is also in order to cover their back from the rigmarole of
political scrutiny by dubbing the campaign team a united ZINASU.
The rebels called for
a meeting with ZINASU leadership on 2 May and upon realizing that
the meeting was a treacherous one the ZINASU President chose integrity
over money and walked out. The lawyer has promised 25 000 dollars
as campaign money in each of the province to install 'one
of our own' as part of his grand strategy. So a campaign team
composing of the rebels and a few ZINASU leaders who have fallen
for the bags of money has been set under the name of ZINASU.
We would like to urge
the students and the nation that the cockpit of the union remains
strong. ZINASU would like to reinstate to the nation that it has
no business to fan divisions in the MDC or in other pro-democratic
forces fighting for real change to our country. The President has
called for a General-Council meeting soon to review the situation.
This latest attempt as previous money driven attempts to split ZINASU
will never work.
We are convinced that
the plot to 'claim' the MDC at the next congress was
a long mooted agenda by the embattled lawyer with long term presidential
ambitions of his own. In the past 2 years the embattled lawyer has
done the following to further his dangerous ambition:
* The current ZINASU
ZINASU (rebels) coordinator (Mfundo Mlilo) was unilaterally imposed
in 2009 by Mafume though he is a known anti-Morgan Tsvangirai activist
who was instrumental in mobilbising students for and gave a solidarity
message at the Mutambara congress in 2005 during the MDC split.
The coordinator was preferred because he was pro-MDC but anti- MT
for easier implementation of the grand plan.
* The current Zinasu-Zinasu
coordinator's predecessor Washington Katema was initially deployed
to the Secretary General's office at Harvest House by the
embattled lawyer as the special assistant in 2009. However, he only
served for 2 weeks and left under unclear circumstances. He is now
working for USAID where the divisive lawyer still has strong links.
* The lawyer
also placed another former ZINASU leader, Benjamin Nyandoro as a
special Projects officer in the Secretary General's office
at Harvest House. The projects officer is loyal to the lawyer and
was under his leadership at crisis coalition.
* The lawyer is also
leading a campaign for a former ZINASU president (Promise Mkwananzi)
to take over as the next MDC youth leader at next year's congress
as a way to strengthen the eventual take over. This former leader
used to work under the armpits of the lawyer at both Crisis and
ZINASU and is a celebrated silver lover.
* He also used his links
at USAID, where he was formerly employed to raise funds for some
parallel workers at Harvest House who were now directly reporting
to him instead of reporting to the Secretary General.
* Also using his links
with donors he has strategically deployed workers who directly report
to him in N.G.O.s and it is a known fact that most of the organizations
now consult him for recruitment.
* One of his
deployees, McDonald Lewanika, who from being the Chairperson of
Crisis Coalition
appointed himself its coordinator, and is also eyeing the Mufakose
House of Assembly seat. At Crisis he will be remembered as the first
co-ordinator to assume that office without any sound educational
qualification. His corrupt tendencies are shown by his recruitment
policy that favors his friends and relatives reducing the coalition
to his own tuck-shop.
* At the Student
Solidarity Trust, Mafume deployed Masimba Nyamanhindi (who also
does not hold any tertiary qualification), as his protégé
in the divisive agenda, what utter hypocrisy! Like McDonald Lewanika,
Nyamanhindi's task is to accommodate the rebels and subsequently
swindle donor funds sourced by Mafume with the desire to sustain
Mafume's financial dynasty and broaden his protégé
base. It is also understood that Nyamanhindi has been in quagmire
rummaging for methods to gain financial prominence over ZINASU and
Mafume's divisive ploy provided him with a perfect opportunity.
* Now that the MDC leadership
has discovered his divisive plans and long term ambitions he (Mafume)
is currently packing his bags to go and work for OSISA where he
believes he will be able to throw new bags of money from a safe
distance at ZINASU, civil society and the MDC.
We urge the students
of Zimbabwe and our friends in the struggle to remain on guard at
this dark hour. Very few generations have had the honor to defend
democracy in its hour of need, such is the honor bestowed upon us
by these egocentric wealth seekers and we shall embrace it.
Visit the ZINASU
fact
sheet
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