‘They’ want to embarrass Chiwenga at Zanu PF conference

A PLOT is said to be brewing to boo and embarrass suspected opponents of the controversial Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No 3) Act (CAA3) at the Zanu PF national people’s conference in Chinhoyi tomorrow amid growing claims of a planned purge targeting the same political foes.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa will officially open the Zanu PF conference in Chinhoyi tomorrow amid intense infighting in the ruling party over the 84-year-old ruler’s succession, following the extension of his term of office under recent constitutional amendments.

Sources, however, alleged a plot to sponsor the jeering, targeting senior party figures seen as stumbling blocks by hardliners pushing for the amendment of the party constitution in line with CAA3.

Such incidents have, in the past, been used to target perceived enemies, with some of the protagonists testifying how they do it and explaining the intricacies involved.

The alleged plot comes after a crucial Zanu PF politburo meeting was aborted over differences surrounding the amendment of the party’s constitution.

Tensions have been rising in the ruling party after Mnangagwa was forced to cancel an extraordinary Zanu PF politburo meeting last Friday due to intense infighting over proposed changes to the ruling party constitution.

Mnangagwa called off the meeting at the 11th hour after senior leaders, including Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga and secretary-general Jacob Mudenda, raised fierce objections.

However, Zanu PF officials publicly attributed the abrupt halt to a clash of programmes.

The CAA3, which extended the presidential tenure and amended succession provisions, has become a major point of contention within Zanu PF, pitting a group of wealthy and politically-connected individuals, often referred to as zvigananda, against party cadres who insist on adherence to the party constitution.

Yesterday at the central committee meeting, Zanu PF adopted revised amendments to the party constitution in a major climbdown from the ones initially proposed by party secretary for legal affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi.

Meanwhile, there are growing fears of a purge of several party bigwigs who reportedly snubbed a Zanu PF presidential fund-raising dinner last week in the capital ahead of the party’s conference.

The Zanu PF politburo met on Tuesday at the party headquarters to mark the start of the conference, where tensions continued to rise, with Mnangagwa claiming that some Zanu PF politburo members snubbed the presidential fund-raising dinner.

In an off-the-cuff address — a rare move for him — he said: “Some of you came and some of you did not. Did you hear that?”

Sources said Mnangagwa’s remarks sent some party members into shock.

“After Mnangagwa’s remarks at the politburo that some politburo members snubbed the fund-raising dinner, there are already fears of a purging or reshuffle,” a source said.

“With all that, there might be a belief that you may be aligned to the Chiwenga faction.”

Chiwenga, who is locked in a succession struggle with Mnangagwa, also did not attend the fund-raising meeting.

Analyst Reuben Mbofana said for politburo members to skip the presidential fund-raising dinner was a significant sign of growing friction within Zanu PF.

He said the ruling party historically used public reprimand as a disciplinary mechanism to assert presidential authority and gauge loyalty ahead of key party events.

“Given the context of the annual national conference and ongoing discussions around party constitutional amendments and succession, public calls for party discipline are designed to call members to order and enforce cohesion,” Mbofana said.

“In Zanu PF politics, public censure often acts as a shot across the bow to force compliance, but if resistance or non-co-operation persists, structural realignments or disciplinary actions typically follow.

“Therefore, while it signals heightened internal political tensions, it is primarily an exertion of control and a test of party discipline, with actual purges remaining a secondary possibility if the rift deepens.”

Analyst Rejoice Ngwenya said recent developments in Zanu PF could be a manifestation of two camps.

“There are two dimensions to the matter. President Mnangagwa might be saying that some members are not performing in their duties, but is it part of the Constitution? But it can be an issue of two camps in Zanu PF. That is what we see,” he said.

Political analyst Gideon Chitanga said Mnangagwa was very invested in entrenching extractivist political interests by cementing his hold on power, ensuring that he stays in office probably until death while creating a system that is likely to succeed him by leaving his loyalists in power.

“Chiwenga is demonstrating that he has a different vision for the country, more grounded in the interests of the ordinary people and clearly fighting for his political life and probably a different vision and project for the direction of the country and the path,” he said.

Political commentator Reason Wafawarova said the cancelled politburo meeting was equally important.

“The official explanation referred to competing presidential programmes, while other reports attributed the cancellation to disagreement over proposed amendments aligning the Zanu PF constitution to Constitution Amendment No 3,” he said.

“The competing explanations should be reported fairly, but the subsequent political developments make the dispute difficult to dismiss as an ordinary scheduling problem.”

He added: “The wider roadmap reportedly includes endorsing him [Mnangagwa] as the sole candidate and using the parliamentary presidential-election system created by CAA3 to retain him for a fresh seven-year term.

“This means the Chinhoyi conference is no longer simply an annual policy gathering. It is becoming a staging ground for restructuring the party around Mnangagwa’s continued rule and closing the remaining institutional route through which Chiwenga — or anybody else —  may challenge him.

“If every province is required to pass an identical resolution, the process will resemble managed unanimity rather than spontaneous provincial enthusiasm. A declaration that any contender must be expelled would also convert internal party democracy to compulsory endorsement: members may discuss succession only after agreeing that there must be no successor.

“Chiwenga now faces an increasingly narrow choice. He can accept a political programme that postpones the congress, extends Mnangagwa’s party leadership and potentially allows Parliament to elect him for another seven years from 2030; he can challenge it internally and risk being labelled disloyal; or he can continue using silence and absence as controlled expressions of resistance.”

However, another political analyst, Rashweat Mukundu, said there was nothing much to expect from the conference other than the same speeches affirming the ruling party’s successes and its dominance on the political field.

“I think we are probably reading too much into this so-called factionalism until that time that the cracks are right in the open. It’s really difficult to make an assessment of who is who in the alleged factions or divisions in Zanu PF,” he said.

“So, my take is until a step is taken either to dismiss someone or someone is clearly speaking out against the other faction then much of what we are looking at is mere speculation. Those in Zanu PF, some individuals may have ambitions. I think it’s what the political games are for.

“But right now I think it’s too early to read anything significant. My view is that let’s wait and see. Let’s wait for the first step to be taken by any of the alleged factions. “Then I think the seriousness of the matter can then be looked at starting from that point. But for now I think we are reading too much into these alleged factions.”

Mnangagwa, addressing the central committee yesterday, warned against factionalism in the ruling party.

“The party and national interest remain central and at the core of our discussions,” he said.

“I urge us to distinguish between principled contributions intended to improve the party and reject conduct that seeks to divide or derail the conference agenda.

“Preferences of cliques and narrow inclinations, among other retrogressive acts, have no place in our party.”

Zvigananda are widely seen as the financial engine behind the campaign to extend Mnangagwa’s rule to 2030.

Sources say they are the unit behind CAA3, with hopes of shutting out Chiwenga and installing businessman and Economic Development and Investment Promotion minister Kudakwashe Tagwirei as successor instead.