Will Chiwenga be the saviour of Zimbabwe?

Social media is awash with ailing Vice President Constantino Chiwenga' s latest picture which stands as the only solid confirmation that he is recovering well. It is known that Chiwenga brought Mugabe down through a military coup in 2017 and replaced him with Mnangagwa. Will history repeat itself through the same man, will Chiwenga topple his proxy, Mnangagwa and save Zimbabweans from the jaws of cruelty and corruption?

Surprisingly, the picture did not come via Presidential mouth piece, George Charamba, Zanupf info department or state media. In fact there is deafening silence in that space.

The photo was provided by a very unlikely and controversial source, G40 member Johnathan Moyo, still in exile after the 2017 coup that overthrew former President Mugabe and this raises a lot of questions than answers.

This is a political egg on the face for Zanupf. It substantiates talk that  a serious rift has developed between Chiwenga and Mnangagwa, factional battles are escalating within Zanupf, Chiwenga is now working with G40 to topple Mnangagwa. And that the plot to assassinate Chiwenga through poisoning has failed.

However, according to information as supplied by our intelligence department, CIB, polonium 210 the same poison that was used by Lacoste faction agents to attack Chiwenga, was also used in the killing of a high profile hero from Matabeleland. But this is subject to another article.

According to spotlight, the Zimbabwe military has already given  President Mnangagwa until 2020 to vacate the office of the President to avoid a humiliating exit.

But spotlight has made it look like a walk in the park for Chiwenga, which may not be the case. Of course, Mnangagwa was assisted by the army to ascend the throne. But he now enjoys some form of legitimacy acquired through elections and the Con- court. He has a mandate with the people of Zimbabwe that expires in 2023. He is currently the Commander in Chief of the same Zimbabwe army that is said to have given him notice to vacate office.

Furthermore, he has made wholesale changes in all security departments to replace Mugabe, and to some extent, Chiwenga's deployees with his loyalists.

This makes it a bit difficult to topple him.

"You can't employ the same strategy twice. Good luck to you daydreamers. We will respond in kind", That was Mukupe, Lacoste faction die hard. His statement is an indication that Lacoste is aware of Chiwenga- G40 political maneuvers and not only calculating but waiting to pounce.

There you have it. The Lacoste faction will not take it while lying down. The battle lines have been drawn.

Its now clear that when Chiwenga returns, all hell shall break lose. And the question is who is going to blink first between Chiwenga and Mnangagwa? That very moment will mark the beginning of a bitter, tribal based civil war in Zimbabwe in which Shona clans led by power hungry Karanga and Zezuru fight for power.

Four years back, MLO President, Cde Paul Siwela spoke of Zimbabwe becoming the next Somalia after the deposition of Mugabe. "History is repeating itself, Mashonaland is reverting back to its original form where there was no central authority to govern the diverse Shona people", he said.  

How accurate he was. Like Somalia, Zimbabwe will see coup after another and civil war after another. Like Somalia which broke into two to give birth to The Republic of Somaliland, Zimbabwe will implode and give birth to the Republic of Matabeleland.

Izenzo kungemazwi!

Israel Dube
MLO Secretary for Information and Public Affairs.