IT never rains, but pours for former Zanu-PF secretary for Administration Didymus Mutasa as the Makoni Chieftainship council of elders yesterday publicly disowned him, saying he was the dynasty’s nephew and not of royal blood.
The council — led by Chief Makoni — said Mutasa was not of royal blood as he wanted everyone in the country to believe.
Mutasa all along claimed to be a Makoni or a Nyati, but for the first time, the clan publicly disputed his kinsmen status, saying he could not assume office as a bonafide member of the clan.
Chief Makoni, who was flanked by Mr Moses Gwasira and Ishe Muchembere during a Press conference at his court in Rusape, said this explained why Mutasa in the early 80s unsuccessfully launched a campaign to clinch the Mutasa chieftainship of the Shumba clan in Manicaland.
His bid crumbled after he failed to elucidate the genealogy and connectivity to that chieftainship.
This has also raised suspicion that he could be of the Shumba totem.
“Didymus Mutasa is not of royal blood because he is a nephew. His great grandmother was a muzvare (daughter of the Makonis called Marutse).
“He is tarnishing the image and integrity of the dynasty by his claims to be a Nyati. Our dynasty is being viewed with suspicions because of him, and this has prompted us to come in the open to expose his roots,” said Chief Makoni.
“He is neither a Nyati or a Makoni. The Mutasas were once our enemies, we fought wars against them to liberate our land and there is no way we could be of the same totem with them. Here is a nephew who adopted the totem of his uncles for lack of or ignorance of his own totem. Didymus Mutasa, thus, has no standing in the determination of matters that relate to the Makoni clan and Makoni Chieftainship. He wanted my throne. He frustrated the whole process for many years. He wanted to be Chief Makoni. He is greedy. He is evil and stops at nothing to grab power,” said Chief Makoni.
It is claimed that Mutasa is a descendant of one “Matambura”, a male born of a female sibling (Marutse) of the family of Chigudu, of the Zendera house.
The Makoni clan stems from its great grandfather Gunguwo, who had five sons, Fusire, Muswati, Zendera, Nyamanhindi and Nyakurukwa.
Marutse was a sister to Zendera who was allegedly killed in 1840.
After his death, Marutse and Zendera’s children were scattered in Mapore and other parts of Mutasa area.
The name Mutasa was derived from a suitor who allegedly rejected paternity.
Mutasa wanted to impose his late brother John Mutasa’s son Tichafara Topira Mutasa, popularly known as Rungutai, as Chief Makoni.
His interference was resisted by the likes of Moses Gwasira, Thomas Vhunduke Gwasira and Makoni District administrator Mr William Mashava.
Mutasa was working with a self-claimed installer and fire kindler of the Makoni dynasty one Paradzai Mukuwapasi.
Mukuwapasi wrote several letters to Mr Mashawa at the instigation of Mutasa, to fast-track Rungutai’s ascendance to the throne.
Rungutai serves as the Headlands constituency Zanu-PF political commissar.
Mutasa dispatched Mukuwapasi to Mr Mashava’s office to fast-track the process on numerous occasions, but the move suffered a still birth as the dynasty elders argued that the Mutasas where not on the family tree, and therefore not of loyal blood.
“He is not of loyal blood as he would want everybody to believe. The central role he played in 2014 as the eldest ‘living father’ of the Zendera family at my inauguration as Chief Makoni was purely political and out of coercion. It was a give and take because we wanted the process to go on as he had stalled it for two years. It was not based on connectivity to the chieftainship,” said Chief Makoni.
Another elder referred the Mutasas, who claim to be ‘Nyati Rutombo’ ‘Nyati Chena’ as ‘Nyati yemubhuku’, not Nyati of Makoni.
Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in Manicaland Mandi Chimene, attended the meeting and thanked the council of elders for biting the bullet and clarifying Mutasa’s true origin.
Mutasa’s political career took a nose dive after being linked to former VP Joice Mujuru’s cabal that wanted to depose or assassinate President Mugabe to facilitate Dr Mujuru’s ascendance to the Zanu-PF and national Presidency.
This was then followed by a series of events including his failure to get a Central Committee seat, being sacked from Government as well as impending disciplinary hearing by a special committee led by VP Phelekezela Mphoko that was recently set up by the Politburo.
Mutasa is threatening to sue Zanu-PF challenging some amendments made to the party’s constitution and that the outcome of the 6th Zanu-PF National People’s Congress was a legal nullity.