Charamba tried to kill wife in 'cold blood'

Charamba tried to kill wife in 'cold blood' - Moyo

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By Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWEAN President Robert Mugabe's spokesman George Charamba attempted to kill his wife, Rudo, "in cold blood" and later staged a cover-up, according to former Information Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo.

The shock claims by Moyo follow a personal attack on him and his wife by the state-run Herald newspaper's Nathaniel Manheru column (read part), said to be the pen name of Charamba.

Moyo, a former university lecturer and political scientist, also accused Mugabe's spokesman of "tribal bigotry" and preaching hate through the column.

Writing exclusively for New Zimbabwe.com, Moyo said: "If Charamba continues to throw dirty mud at people’s families and insulting their ethnicity to fan tribal hatred, then he must prepare himself and his boss (Robert Mugabe) for real disclosures on the way."

He added: "Zimbabweans would be told many things about everything including how Charamba has attempted to murder his wife in cold blood and how that attempted murder has been covered up.

"And the disgusting bloody evidence would be given because it is available. This is not a threat but a promise."

Moyo's forceful outbursts add a new and dangerous chapter to Manheru's acidic column which has targeted prominent government critics and their families. The column has also been accused of "dehumanising women" by the Media Institute of Southern Africa after its author claimed a female columnist for the weekly Financial Gazette newspaper was "menopausal" and suffered "P.M.T (Pre-Menstrual Tension) senselessness".

Moyo would not say if Charamba's alleged attempt to "murder" his wife was on February 24, 2005 -- the only publicly known wife-battering incident by Charamba which Zimbabwean prosecutors were instructed not to pursue.

On that day, Charamba is said to have beat his wife "severely", then assaulted her baby "badly", according to disclosures in Zanu PF's official newspaper, The Voice.

When he was confronted on the charge, Charamba -- said to have a black belt in karate -- referred questions to his lawyer Johannes Tomana who claimed the case had been withdrawn by Charamba's wife.

Still in its first year of publication, the Nathaniel Manheru column has grown to be a major source of news on government policy for local and international journalists.

The column correctly predicted that President Mugabe would reject Kofi Annan as mediator in the Zimbabwean crisis for Benjamin Mkapa, the former Tanzanian leader.

Although Moyo has previously outed Charamba as the writer behind the column, the British-educated wordsmith has not denied the claim. When the column was dragged to court for making libelous statements, Herald editor Pikirayi Deketeke claimed authorship.

What irked Moyo, once considered the most powerful man after Mugabe, was the "blatantly tribal" suggestion in last Saturday's column that he "should not criticize Mugabe from the anthill of Mazowe" and that Moyo's "whole lineage never dreamt of having land in the heartland of Mashonaland".

Moyo accused Charamba of tribal bigotry for having asserted that "it takes some cheek for a Zimbabwean from Matabeleland to criticize Mugabe from the anthills of Mazowe."

Moyo said: "It is crudely tribal and very inflammatory. Assertions of this nature can incite tribal hatred and violence. Charamba’s inflammatory tribalism would ordinarily go unnoticed but for the fact that he is Mugabe’s trusted and loyal personal spokesperson ...Mugabe speaks through Charamba."

Since leaving government, Moyo has crossed swords with some of his former colleagues. He is currently suing Zanu PF national chairman John Nkomo and former Home Affairs Minister, Dumiso Dabengwa for defamation.

Moyo has also said he is writing memoirs about his time in government. He has not announced when they would be published, but writing for this website, he hinted that could be soon.

Said Moyo: "Charamba must wise up to the fact that his use of tribal bigotry and inflammatory intrusion into people’s families and personal matters has gone too far and will not be tolerated further. He should convey the same to his boss who stands to lose the most."

Challenged last night to prove his claim that Charamba wanted to "murder" his wife Moyo claimed that he had "the material proof".

Repeated attempts to get comment from Charamba were unsuccessful last night.
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