ZANU PF youth league secretary Tino Machakaire has said they will not betray President Emmerson Mnangagwa and support his opponents who want to see him out of office when his term expires in 2028.
There is intense jockeying in Zanu PF as Mnangagwa’s constitutionally mandated two terms as the country’s President ends in 2028.
Some party organs, in particular the youth league, have been holding weekly inter-district meetings where they pledge undying support for Mnangagwa, saying they want him to remain in office beyond 2028.
Already, slogans saying Mnangagwa must stay in office until 2030 are being popularised.
The youth league held an inter-district meeting in Manicaland on Saturday where Machakaire pledged support for Mnangagwa’s presidency.
"We do not want people who when they are uplifted by Mnangagwa, they turn around and oppose him saying that “Mnangagwa has made a mistake, it is bad and he must step down,” Machakaire said.
“A person who chooses you is important in your life. You cannot have two fathers at the same time. In your household or village, there is only one father.”
“I am here to repeat this in the presence of everyone including the media that I am loyal to Mnangagwa as he is the one who put me here [in this position]."
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The provincial campaigns seeking endorsement for Mnangagwa’s continued stay in office have stoked serious infighting within the party amid reports that there is a push back by the camp aligned to Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga to derail the plans.
Chiwenga is reported to be a front-runner to succeed Mnangagwa with claims the two had a secret agreement in 2017 after the late Robert Mugabe’s ouster that Mnangagwa will hand over power to the former army general.
Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa recently said there was no such agreement.
Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association chairperson Ethan Mathibela recently said they were opposed to the Mnangagwa 2030 plans.
Machakaire, however, rallied the youths to remain loyal to Mnangagwa.
“To me [Kudzai] Chipanga is a hero as he is loyal. He will never betray the party no matter what,” Machakaire said
"Thank you Chipanga, you have done well, your loyalty is what brought you back to Zanu PF..."
Chipanga, a former Zanu PF youth league secretary appointed to the post by Mugabe in 2016, was in attendance at the inter-district meeting.
In 2016, he led a ‘million-man’ march in support of Mugabe at a time when there was a plot to remove him from office.
He was later fired from Zanu-PF after the 2017 coup that ousted Mugabe.
Chipanga was readmitted to Zanu PF in 2021, but was, however, barred from holding positions in the party for 3 years.
"If you are in office or you were voted in by the people, do not betray them,” Machakaire said.
“Chipanga fell in love with Mugabe, stayed loyal to him and I was given the opportunity to choose who I would work with and I chose Chipanga due to his loyalty as loyalty is important."
