ZANU-PF threatens bush war

As the counting of ballots in the weekend’s heavily contested and violent Bindura constituency began on Monday, Didymus Mutasa, a former cabinet minister and senior ZANU-PF official, warned Zimbabweans of a possible coup if President Robert Mugabe lost power in the presidential elections planned for next year, News24 has reported.

Mutasa said his party might have to take up arms to remain in power. “There were coups, there are coups, there will always be coups. Ian Smith stayed in power in this country illegally for many years,” he was quoted saying. Smith and his party, the Rhodesia Front, declared independence from Britain in November 1965 and proceeded to rule Zimbabwe for about 15 years, sparking a brutal bush war - the effects of which were still being felt, today, the report said.

Mutasa made the statement while testifying in a court case in which the victory of a ZANU-PF member of parliament was being challenged by the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). “I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody threatened to go to war if ZANU-PF lost the election, because ZANU-PF took to the bush and fought against the illegal regime of Ian Smith,” he said. Mutasa declined to commit himself on whether his party would respect the people’s choice if they voted against it in next year’s presidential election, but told High Court judge Justice Paddington Garwe: “I can only give assurance that Zanu-PF will cross that bridge when it comes to it.”