CIO summoned ZEC officials as Mnangagwa plots 2030etrenchments

Renowned investigative journalist Hopewell Chin'ono has claimed that the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) recently summoned Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) officials under the guise of a training session, in what he says is part of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's strategy to secure a term extension beyond 2028.

According to Chin'ono, the move is linked to resolutions expected from the upcoming ZANU-PF conference in Mutare, which is widely tipped to endorse a push for Mnangagwa's presidency to be extended to 2030 through a national referendum. He suggested that the referendum, like previous polls in Zimbabwe, would be manipulated in favour of the ruling party.

Chin'ono also reported that a cabinet reshuffle was imminent. Sports Minister General Anselem Nhamo Sanyatwe, an ally of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, is said to be on his way out, with Mnangagwa's clansman and fitness trainer, Temba Mliswa, tipped as his replacement.

At the same time, General Valerio Sibanda, Commander of the Defence Forces, is reportedly facing retirement as early as October. Insiders allege Sibanda is considered "too professional" for what Mnangagwa's camp intends to implement - an apparent reference to the need for more compliant military leadership.

Chin'ono argued that the manoeuvres point to a broader strategy to weaken Chiwenga's faction within ZANU-PF and the state. He warned that, if executed, the plan would leave Zimbabwe with "a totally captured military, further politicisation of state institutions, and a deeper assault on electoral credibility and judicial independence."

The journalist further noted that Mnangagwa has cancelled international travel, including his planned trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York, amid fears that Chiwenga could act against his allies during his absence. He claimed that "prepared dockets" against Mnangagwa's loyalists are already in place, should Chiwenga be left in charge as acting president.

Chin'ono concluded that Mnangagwa is moving more aggressively than Robert Mugabe in sidelining his deputy, citing the fact that the current commander of the Presidential Guard Brigade - a unit central to the 2017 coup - is closely linked to Mnangagwa's camp. He noted that the commander's wife is openly campaigning for Mnangagwa's chosen successor, business tycoon Kuda Tagwirei.

With these developments, Chin'ono suggested that Chiwenga's political options are dwindling, leaving a military coup as his only potential recourse - a possibility he described as increasingly unlikely given Mnangagwa's ongoing purge of dissenters within the armed forces.