HARARE – President Robert Mugabe’s press secretary, George Charamba, has ordered a purge of senior management at state-owned Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) for allegedly failing to run a favourable campaign for the ruling ZANU PF party, which lost to the opposition in elections two weeks ago.

Authoritative sources said Charamba, who has great influence in the running of the country’s sole broadcaster, had himself come under fire from senior ruling party officials who now blame him for botching up its election campaign.

The sources said Charamba had convinced party stalwarts he could handle ZANU PF’s publicity campaign and had used what is believed to be his company fronted by former ZBC editor-in-chief Chris Chivinge to run campaign advertisements and the printing of election regalia like T-shirts.

Charamba, and not ZANU PF had written up the party’s manifesto, which until today has not been made public.

There is also suspicion among some ZANU PF officials that some of the money given to Charamba was not used but might never be accounted for.

The President’s spin doctor met ZBC board chairman Justin Mutasa and other members on Monday and directed Mutasa in particular to fire the corporation’s chief executive Henry Muradzikwa and his senior managers in the editorial and marketing departments.

“The people in the marketing department are being accused of running too many MDC advertisements during the run-up to the (joint presidential, parliamentary and council) elections,” the source said.

“In all fairness there is nothing more we could have done. He is feeling the pressure and he now wants to find fall guys. He is just scrapping the bottom because it was ZANU PF which had the most time on television.”

A ZANU PF official told ZimOnline that Charamba had failed to deliver most of the election material, like T-shirts and posters on time.

Charamba, who authors a weekly column under the pseudonym Nathaniel Manheru in the government-controlled Herald newspaper, has been co-opted into a crack team that is strategising Mugabe’s bid to retain power in an expected presidential run-off.

Zimbabweans are anxiously waiting for the results of the presidential election and although opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai says he won with 50.3 percent of the vote, independent and ZANU PF forecasts suggest there would be need for a run-off.

Charamba last week wrote in his weekly column that ZBC management was acting “funny” and has in the past accused Muradzikwa of attending meetings held by independent presidential candidate Simba Makoni’s team.

“The problem confronting Mutasa is that there is no prima-facie reason to fire these guys but he is under pressure from Charamba,” the source said. “There is uncertainty now and knowing Charamba, people will be fired.”

Charamba was unavailable for comment but the source said Chivhinge could bounce back as editor-in-chief.

War veteran Allan Chiweshe, who heads the popular Radio Zimbabwe is being tipped to take over from Muradzikwa while another war veteran Happison Muchechetere, who is a rabid Mugabe supporter and managing director of a moribund international radio station launched last year, will also be roped in.

When this ZimOnline correspondent visited the corporation on Tuesday, workers’ morale was at its lowest as a cloud of uncertainty hung over the national broadcaster.