Zimbabwe’s Vice President Joseph Msika has strongly begged his ruling ZANU PF party members to stop insulting former politburo and Home Affairs Minister Dumiso Dabengwa for dumping the party and President Robert Mugabe citing he is a respectable figure.

Dumiso Dabengwa & Simba Makoni

A source said the Vice President has been pleading with the party officials not to cross Dabengwa’s path, even by calling him names.

“Msika hints Dabengwa is a ‘big man’ from way back, and has never done anything wrong or intimidate anyone,” he said.

Dabengwa recently told at least 7 000 cheering supporters at Bulawayo’s White City Stadium that Makoni was on a “rescue mission” to haul the country back from a deepening economic crisis marked by record inflation of over 100 000 percent.

Whilst Mugabe has consistently denounced his election opponents- MDC’s Morgan Tsvangirai and Independent candidate Simba Makoni as charlatans and witches serving the interests of the West, he has by all means avoided mentioning Dumiso Dabengwa.

“The Vice President says he is even ‘scared’ to look at the former Home Affairs minister’s CV and background.”

Joseph Msika himself at one point of time attacked Simba Makoni and Dumiso Dabengwa for falling into the trap of neo imperialists by accepting to be used to weaken Zanu-PF from within.

He said Makoni and Dabengwa had betrayed the revolution for the love of dirty money from Zimbabwe's enemies bent on effecting regime change.

ZANU-PF National Chairman John Nkomo has also described Dabengwa’s defection to Makoni’s camp as a non-event and good riddance of undesirable elements.

Nkomo said the party is moving on to cleanse itself of infiltrators in which the party believes there is freedom of choice and this is a passing phase which people should not preoccupy themselves with.

Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Patrick Chinamasa labeled Dabengwa a "liar and a charlatan" for insinuating that he is part of the Simba Makoni presidential bid.

Chinamasa also accused Dabengwa of protecting white settler farmers in Matabeleland over the years and this had resulted in the slow pace of land redistribution in those provinces despite the best efforts of the Government to make the ‘Third Chimurenga’ a success.

“The Vice President added he is aware of ruling party officials indulging in activities meant to harm the party, so they should just shut up especially on Dabengwa,” he said.

In 1982 he was charged, five others, of treason by Mugabe’s government. He was acquitted, for lack of evidence in 1983. On release, he was re-detained under emergency regulations. At this time the Gukurahundi began. He was released in 1987.

Between 1992 and 2000 he was appointed Minister of Home Affairs in the Zimbabwe government and in 1991 was appointed to the chair of the Matabeleland Zambezi Water Project.

During the Rhodesian Bush War the white minority nicknamed him the "Black Russian" because he trained in Moscow, Russia.

The independent media recently reported Mugabe had offered to appoint Dabengwa as Vice-President as a replacement for Joseph Msika, but that Dabengwa had declined the offer.

Msika alongside John Nkomo, the Mujuru camp, and ‘others’ are also reported to be supporting Makoni’s presidential bid.

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