Chiwenga tells Zanu-PF members to be loyal to the party

Vice President Constantino Chiwenga has cautioned Zanu-PF party members against falling into the traps of self-serving personality cults, personal power struggles, and factionalism.

In a speech covered by ZBC News, Chiwenga, clad in Zanu-PF attire, urged party members to stay loyal not to individuals who "come and go," but to the party and the nation as a whole.


"There is no room for factionalism at any level in the party. A party cannot be undermined by being defined in the confines of individuals. I repeat, no factionalism in the party, we are one and shall remain one, hapana kuti uyu ndinomuda uyu handimude, tiri tese ka? Our loyalty is not to individuals but to the bigger agenda which is larger than us, that of the party and the people of Zimbabwe who are supreme, it is the party, it is the people of Zimbabwe who are supreme, not inini saChiwenga, I will come and go," said Chiwenga.

Unlike other cabinet members, including Vice President Kembo Mohadi and senior party figures, Chiwenga has refused to endorse the "ED2030" slogan.

His comments have been interpreted as a direct challenge to Mnangagwa's intensifying "ED2030" campaign.

Mnangagwa and Chiwenga are reportedly engaged in a fierce power struggle over Zanu-PF's unresolved leadership and succession issues, which have intensified as the former attempts to extend his rule beyond the 2028 constitutional term limit to 2030.

UK-based Zimbabwean lawyer, Brighton Mutebuka, recently claimed that there is a looming "final showdown" between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga over the control of the ruling Zanu-PF party and the Zimbabwean government.

Mutebuka said despite Zanu-PF's denials, there are ongoing power struggles between the two senior political figures.

The academic believes Mnangagwa is now racing against time and has to execute a plan to remain in power beyond 2028 within the next 18 months. He wrote:

"ED is going nowhere. Battle lines are now drawn everywhere. In SADC, in Zanu-PF and all state institutions. The unfinished business of November 2017 has returned to haunt Zimbabwe.

"The showdown is looming. It's how ED's political journey was always going to unfold. He was always incapable of giving up power voluntarily.

"Had his Mutare speech been sincere, we would have seen a tectonic shift in Zim's political terrain through the loosening of his grip over party & state affairs, genuine delegation of power/decentralisation and a lowering of the political temperature.

"Instead, we have seen the exact opposite! You would think it was ED's first term. There are so many political scandals engulfing ED as to disincentivise him from vacating the seat of power. One gets the impression that he is committed to rolling the political dice to the bitter end!

"Virtually every current political event in Zim seems to be attributable to the intractable succession saga. From mysterious arsons to senseless arrests of political opponents & exceptionally cruel & prolonged denial of bail even to the disabled and infants – such jarring heartlessness & callousness!

"We are also increasingly seeing the unusual spectacle of children of high-profile regime officials getting arrested – which heightens the political intrigue involved!

"It's a bumpy road ahead, everyone needs to buckle up & fasten their seatbelts, especially the leading protagonists & those around them!