By Farai D Hove| The man who once praised former President Robert Mugabe calling him ” Cremora,” has turned his back on him. For years, Mash West Minister Webster Shamu even described himself as Mugabe’s first biological son next to Chatunga.

Shamu who did not explain his change of mindset, derided Mugabe before party delegates in Kariba at the weekend.

He likened Mugabe to an armed dissident. Shamu said, “there is no individual who is above the revolution as incidents before and after Independence show; the Nhari-Badza rebellion and the issue of Ndabaningi Sithole were cases in point; If we have someone today questioning President Mnangagwa’s legitimacy, they are doing so outside the dictates of the party.”

Shamu spoke against Mugabe who has in recent days protested against his removal. He said, “after clearly resigning, are we supposed to remain without a leader as a nation or are we supposed remain without a leader as a party?

“In Zanu-PF, we have a rich history of people who left leadership positions even during the liberation struggle. This was done to ensure the struggle continues.”

He likened Mugabe’s ascendancy to party leadership in the 1970s to that of Mnangagwa’s rise in November last which later required ratification by the party Congress as was done in December last year. – state media/additional reporting