A faction of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association (ZNLWVA) has declared that Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga is their preferred successor to President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the maneuvers to succeed the 81-year-old ruler begin to manifest in Zanu PF.
The government was last week forced to admit that the ZNLWVA had splintered into several factions as divisions among the former fighters widened over the performance of Mnangagwa’s government since he took over from long-time ruler Robert Mugabe in a coup seven years ago.
Mnangagwa’s final term in office ends in 2028, but there is a loud campaign in Zanu PF to extend his stay in power. A faction in Zanu PF is said to be pushing for Chiwenga to succeed the former Justice minister.
Andreas Ethan Mathibela, who leads an increasingly vocal ZNLWVA faction, said the war veterans body was shocked by comments by Mnangagwa’s autographer Eddie Cross, who said the former army commander will never rule Zimbabwe.
“We heard a few months ago Eddie Cross saying that the vice president, Constantine Chiwenga will not be able to succeed the president upon the end of his tenure,” Matibela told The Standard in an interview.
“The statement came as a surprise to us as war veterans because in the first place, Eddie Cross is an ex-Rhodie and I do not see him anywhere near the geopolitics of this country.
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“He is not even in the rank and file of the ruling party and we wonder as war veterans where he got the locus standi to make such a declaration.
“We wonder where he gets the authority to say that the deputy president of the party, someone who, in terms of hierarchy and constitution of the party, is the right candidate to ascend to the throne, will not ascend when the right time comes.
Mathibela said Chiwenga had an “unquestionable record of participating in the liberation war”, which he said placed him at par with other former leaders of the party and the country.
“War veterans, and we are sure the same goes for Zimbabweans who are politically conscious, are wondering what exactly underlies these dangerous assertions from a person like Eddie Cross,” he said.
“Chiwenga is one of our own who fought for this country. He is a decorated soldier, who has the ability to rule this country.
“He is someone that we believe has the capacity to end the madness that is happening in this country where people can sabotage an economy at will and walk scot free.
“We believe this madness can be stopped by a trained cadre because that cadre needs to have discipline installed in him at training and we believe Chiwenga has all that.”
He claimed that Chiwenga has a clean political record and was not involved in any criminal and corrupt activities.
“There is nothing amiss about him. He has no scandal and skeletons in his cabinet and he had been, during his time in the army, a straightforward soldier and we would be very happy under his rule as long as he does not harbor tribal tendencies, nepotism, and all the ills that have bedeviled this country in the past,” Mathibela added.
“He has the passion to see this country in a better place and we believe that no Rhodesian can say anything regarding Chiwenga’s ascendancy to the throne or let alone condemn him as an unfit candidate. Where do those guts come from? We wonder.”
Zanu PF spokesperson Chris Mutsvangwa leads the other ZNLWVA faction, which played a critical role in the coup that toppled Mugabe.
Mutsvangwa and Chiwenga are said to be rivals in the battle to succeed Mnangagwa.