Mnangagwa could face growing tensions within Zanu PF

President Emmerson Mnangagwa could face growing tensions within Zanu PF after a Harare provincial executive member allegedly suggested that the province should stop taking instructions from the party's national headquarters.

Sources said the remarks were made during a Harare provincial meeting held last weekend to draft resolutions ahead of the party's annual conference scheduled for next month.

The meeting was chaired by provincial chairperson Godwills Masimirembwa, while provincial political commissar Voyage Dambuza reportedly proposed that Harare should no longer accept directives or personnel seconded to the province by the party headquarters.

"He proposed that the province should no longer take orders from the headquarters," a Zanu PF insider said.

"He said the province should no longer accept people seconded to its structures by the headquarters."

The remarks have reportedly caused concern within party circles, with some members viewing them as a potential challenge to the authority of Mnangagwa, who is both President of Zimbabwe and leader of Zanu PF.

The alleged outburst has been linked by insiders to Mnangagwa's recent appointment of 10 additional senators under Constitution Amendment No. 3.

Among those appointed was Brilliant "Bina" Dube, a former aide to opposition politician Nelson Chamisa.

Dube's appointment has generated debate within political circles, particularly over the inclusion of individuals with previous links to the opposition in positions within the ruling party's structures.

One Zanu PF source alleged that the Harare provincial executive felt threatened by the possibility of personnel being seconded from the national structures.

"The Harare provincial executive is largely incompetent and feels threatened if someone is seconded to the province," the source said.

Another Central Committee member who attended the meeting described Dambuza's alleged comments as potentially amounting to defiance of Mnangagwa's authority.

"If this is not defiance to President Mnangagwa, this is surely childhood exuberance which should be nipped in the bud," the member said.

However, Dambuza dismissed the reports as false when contacted by NewsDay.

"Zanu PF is a structured party, and we are where we are today because we have structures," he said.

"This is nonsense. We have systems that have kept the party intact and not rumours."

Other party insiders claimed that some members of the Harare provincial executive were unhappy with Dube's appointment, arguing that presidential investment adviser and Central Committee member Paul Tungwarara should have received the position.

Tungwarara has been a prominent advocate of extending Mnangagwa's tenure to 2030 and beyond and has publicly declared that there will be "no vacancy" until the President completes his extended term.

He was, however, not included among the 10 presidential appointees.

The reported tensions come against a history of disagreements between the Harare provincial executive and the party's central leadership.

In August 2025, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga reprimanded Masimirembwa's executive over what he described as internal transgressions that were fuelling factionalism.

Chiwenga accused the provincial leadership of prioritising personal financial interests over party ideology and ordered the reinstatement of members who had been suspended for allegedly supporting him as a potential successor to Mnangagwa.

The latest allegations have not been independently verified, while Dambuza has rejected claims that he called for the province to disregard instructions from Zanu PF headquarters.