HARD-HITTING statements made by war veterans calling on President Emmerson Mnangagwa to step down have exposed the growing resistance in Zanu PF to a plot by his loyalists to extend his term of office by two years to 2030, party insiders and analysts have said.
Zanu PF adopted a resolution at its annual conference in October last year to extend Mnangagwa’s tenure despite the President having reiterated that he intends to retire after the expiry of his final term in 2028.
Mnangagwa’s loyalists are, however, having none of it and are forging ahead with the 2030 agenda holding weekly meetings in their constituencies rallying support.
On Sunday and Monday,
war veterans said they were opposed to the 2030 agenda with Zanu PF Central Committee member Blessed Geza going to the extent of calling on Mnangagwa to step down.
Acting President Constantino Chiwenga, who is seen as a frontrunner in the race to succeed Mnangagwa, on Monday spoke out against corruption at the National Heroes Acre where crowds sang in his praises.
Senior Zanu PF members yesterday told NewsDay that the die has been cast in Zanu PF's factional fights over the 2030 agenda.
“This (statement by war vets) is a rallying call for all war veterans and Zimbabweans to wise up to what is happening in the country. This signals the demise or the end of the road for the Mnangagwa administration,” a senior party official said.
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"The President will try to resist, do all that he can for now, but the die has been cast and the position of those war veterans normally speaks to the position of party members and what they are saying is exactly what the party membership is thinking about."
He said the pro-Chiwenga cheers at the National Heroes Acre a day after Geza's statement reinforced the anti-2030 sentiment.
“Chiwenga was basically reinforcing the statement by the war veterans when he spoke out against corruption. He has been able to undo the 2030 agenda in just two days.”
Analysts echoed similar sentiments with Eldred Masunungure saying the country is at tipping point because of Zanu PF factional fights.
Masunungure said Zanu PF tensions were simmering ahead of the August 2023 elections in circumstances similar to 2017 that led to the late President Robert Mugabe’s removal.
The run up to the elections saw Mnangagwa’s camp relying more on affiliates and other shadowy groupings for support.
"Anything can happen unless there is an intervention in the form of a mediation. There is too much going on and we are probably seeing a confrontation within the party and military or more broadly the security sector," Masunungure said.
"This is because war veterans are not just speaking on behalf of ex-combatants but they are also representing the security sector.
"We are entering troubled times and it may not end well unless there is an intervention to bring down the temperatures from boiling point as the ingredients for the same kinds of things that happened in 2017 are now there and mediators can pre-empt the situation."
Analyst Ibbo Mandaza said the war veterans represented the opinion of ordinary Zimbabweans.
“The statement by the war veterans resonates with the population at large as evidenced by the reaction to Chiwenga’s speech at the Heroes Acre,” he said.
“There is now consensus that corruption has never been as bad as it is now and the level of impunity by the cabal has really become unbearable and, therefore, the war veterans are likely to receive popular support across the country.”
Information minister Jenfan Muswere last week said there was nothing criminal in supporting or opposing the 2030 agenda.
Zanu PF commissar Munyaradzi Machacha has in the past said Zanu PF members opposing the 2030 agenda must not be persecuted.
The church last week said the call to extend the presidential term and postpone the 2028 elections is “an invitation for the President to be a co-conspirator in overthrowing the Constitution of the country which the President is elected to uphold, respect and defend”.
