FORMER Zanu PF political commissar and 2023 presidential aspirant Saviour Kasukuwere has narrated, in a yet-to-be-published book, how he survived 15 minutes of massive gunfire during the 2017 coup that toppled late President Robert Mugabe.
Kasukuwere was one of those within Zanu PF’s G40 faction put on top of the military’s ‘hit-list’ at the height of the coup.
Much like how exiled former Information Minister Jonathan Moyo’s home was attacked and left riddled with bullets, Kasukuwere’s home endured 15 minutes of gunfire from the military.
He had to flee via Mozambique en route to South Africa, first via Kenya where he found refuge.
Homes of his colleagues within the faction Moyo, former Tourism Minister Walter Mzembi, Patrick Zhuwawo and former Manicaland Provincial Affairs Minister Manditawepi Chimene were also attacked during the same period.
“Early November 16 at exactly 0215 hours, there was a huge bang at his gate and the alarm went off and for the next 15 minutes, there was a deafening gunfire attack. He (Kasukuwere) escaped death by a whisker as armed military men unleashed 113 rounds of live bullets onto his house,” reads excerpts from the book which is written in the third person narrative.
“The armed military men also fired a number of shots at a nearby ZESA electricity supply booster in a bid to cut off power from his house. Saviour and his family survived the gruesome attack on his family home on the eve of the coup, which left deep emotional scars.
“He fled from his home with his family and other colleagues crossing the Ruya River to Mozambique and then Kenya; exiled in South Africa which he now calls home.
“The gruesome attack on his home and family has never been investigated up to this day.”
Details about the book are yet to be shared.
Moyo is currently holed up in Kenya despite a public apology to Mnangagwa late last year. Mugabe’s exiled nephew Zhuwawo, with whom he penned the letter, has not been in the country since his escape on the day.
Mnangagwa’s administration is still hunting down G40 faction members, a situation that could be worsened by Kasukuwere’s bid to challenge him during August’s general elections.