Zanu PF youths in the Midlands province on Tuesday turned a preparatory meeting for the party’s youth interface rally into a ‘Pasi ne Poison’ slogan chanting event, with speakers taking turns to denounce the alleged poisoning of Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Gwanda a few weeks ago.
The preparatory meeting held at Cecil John Rhodes primary school in Gweru was attended by Zanu PF Secretary for Youths, Kudzanai Chipanga, Deputy Minister of Tourism Anastacia Ndhlovu and representatives from all districts in the Midlands province and was organised to appraise the national leadership on the progress made ahead of the youth interface rally to be addressed by the party’s first secretary, President Robert Mugabe.
Other slogans chanted during the meeting include “Pasi ne ngozi”, “pasi nevanoisira vamwe poison”, “Pasi nemhondi” as well as Mnangagwa’s trade mark “Pasi nemhanduuuu”.
Zanu PF National Youth Political Commissar, Innocent Hamandishe was verbally confronted by the jovial youths during the meeting who labelled him a ‘G40’ for refusing to chant the ‘pasi ne poison’ slogan.
Sensing rebellion, Hamandishe had to seek the support of politburo member July Moyo as temperatures at the meeting began heating up.
“We have heard the slogans that you want and here we have Politburo member Cde July Moyo who is also the Admin Deputy Secretary so let’s have discipline.
“There are slogans that we know that are done, as the PC I say let’s understand each other, we came here to talk about the issue of the visit of the President,” Hamandishe told the youths.
Midlands Youth Chairperson, Prosper Machando however dismissed factionalism in the Midlands province saying they are solidly behind President Mugabe.
“There is no one we follow in this Province besides President Robert Mugabe. we have some individuals who say a lot of nonsense about us, saying things about succession issues which is not within us.
“As Midlands Province we have no such animals, we follow the party’s principles and know of only one leader R.G Mugabe. We as the Midlands Province we are Pro-R.G Mugabe and we don’t want people who encourage such successionist thinking which is not in our youth in the Province,” Machando said.
The meeting was punctuated by dancing and singing of ‘anti poison’ songs and slogans in-between speakers with scores of youths saying the alleged poisoning of Vice President Mnangagwa who recently returned to Zimbabwe from South Africa where he was seeking medical attention, was an erroneous move by his adversaries.
The Midlands Youth Interface rally is set for early September and preparations for the event are said to be at an advanced stage. Zanu PF has been holding youths interface meetings across the country to mobilize youths ahead of the watershed 2018 elections.
