FORMER Defence minister and Zanu PF Council of Elders chairperson Sydney Sekeramayi has sent shivers down the spine of ruling party supporters after he denounced thieves, while chanting a slogan.
Sekeramayi chanted: “Pasi nembavha (down with thieves)” at the Uzumba-Maramba-Pfungwe star rally over the weekend, but the chant left the ruling party supporters perplexed.
The slogan failed to get traction in the audience, including those at the top table.
Sekeramayi, who was once touted as the successor of the late former President Robert Mugabe, fell off the party’s succession matrix following the November 2017 coup which saw President Emmerson Mnangagwa grab leadership of both the party and government.
“Pamberi nekuhwina maelections, pasi nembavha (Forward with election victory, death to thieves),” he chanted, much to the chagrin of the crowd, which appeared very uncomfortable to respond to the chant.
Zanu PF has been accused of normalising corruption and creating a culture of impunity in which corrupt officials within the party are not held accountable.
Political commentator Tendai Reuben Mbofana told NewsDay that Sekeremayi’s slogan proved that Zanu PF supporters know the thieves in the party.
“Zanu PF supporters are aware that Zanu PF is the headquarters of thieves and they were just shocked about what Sekeremayi was saying. Was he shooting himself in the foot? What he said is hypocritical to people who are suffering,” Mbofana said.
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“We have witnessed that President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been getting the cheers he expected. People have been doing this out of desperation, because of hunger and poverty as they have been getting freebies at the rallies.”
Political scientist Fanuel Kaseke said Zanu PF had normalised corruption and the only way to remove such a culture was by voting it out.
“Sekeremayi’s pose shows a moral conflict, he realised just before uttering his chant that he is a victim of his statement, and the entire Zanu PF elite. Even the supporters’ response is a clear indication that corruption has been canonised in Zanu PF,” he said.
“Zanu PF survives on corruption, coming to this election the citizens have a moral obligation to convict such people on the ballot as Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission and the Judiciary has proved to be toothless.
Several opposition social media sites were celebrating the slogan by Sekeramayi, saying corruption was the elephant in the room.
Meanwhile, in Uzumba, scores of Zanu PF supporters were seen grabbing food from a vehicle at the rally and living while Mnangagwa was still delivering his speech.
