Opinion / Columnist
The Sopranos of State House: Zanu PF's Mafia Politics Unmasked
2 hrs ago | 56 Views
Introduction
Zimbabwe is no longer under the rule of a political party - it is under the grip of a mafia cartel dressed in liberation colours.
Revolutionaries lost power to gukurahundistas a long time ago. Zanu PF has mutated from a liberation movement into a looting machine, suffocating the nation with greed, intimidation, and betrayal. The rot is total, the stakes are national, and the time for silence is over.
A Politburo of Gangsters
The recent politburo chaos laid everything bare. Vice-President Chiwenga storms in with a dossier alleging that US$3.2 billion was siphoned through Sakunda Holdings, with President Mnangagwa himself as the "ultimate beneficiary."
Instead of accountability, the gukurahundista mafia dons turned the meeting into a shouting circus. Mnangagwa retaliated by deploying his enforcer, Chris Mutsvangwa, to publicly humiliate Chiwenga. This was not governance. It was gangster politics - a mafia turf war over stolen billions, while citizens starve.
A Cartelised Economy of Loot
US$3.2 billion is only the tip of the iceberg. Gold smuggling, fuel cartels, tenderpreneurs - the entire economy has been captured and auctioned to Zanu PF's gukurahundista cartels.
The party itself never saw the billions according to Chiwenga. Instead, the loot went to build patronage networks, with Wicknell Chivayo and Scott Sakupwanya playing the role of flamboyant bagmen. Citizens are left with empty shelves, blackout nights, and collapsing hospitals, while the dons cruise in convoys.
This is not leadership. It is organised plunder.
Rule Through Fear
Every mafia survives on fear. Zanu PF runs no different. Mnangagwa distrusts his own deputies, shutting them out of key briefings. Chiwenga flexes his coup credentials, reminding all that he has toppled a leader before.
This is not a government of laws - it is a gang of men threatening each other with knives, while the nation bleeds. Citizens are not protected; they are hostages.
Betrayal of Liberation
The betrayal is complete. Zimbabweans who fought for justice and freedom are now ruled by racketeers in designer suits. Liberation has been replaced with looting. Dignity replaced with despair. The blood of the liberation struggle has been traded for Lamborghinis and offshore accounts.
Let us be clear: the gukurahundistas are not custodians of independence. They are grave-diggers of the revolution.
The Call: National Convention Now
Zanu PF cannot reform itself. You cannot ask the thief to guard the vault. Every succession battle is about who controls the cartel, not who serves the nation.
The solution is clear and urgent: a National Convention - a gathering of citizens, civil society, churches, labour, business, and opposition forces. From it must emerge a National Transitional Authority (NTA) to:
Smash the cartels and reclaim the economy.
Restore the rule of law and rebuild independent institutions.
Prepare for free, fair, credible elections.
South Africa had CODESA. Liberia and Sierra Leone dismantled warlords through transitional authorities. Zimbabwe must seize this same path - or sink deeper into mafia captivity.
Conclusion: Citizens Must Rise
Zanu PF's mafia wars are not internal party issues - they are national emergencies. Billions vanish while children drop out of school. Hospitals collapse while party elites build mansions. Fear rules while hope dies.
The nation cannot afford spectatorship. Citizens must rise, speak, organise, and demand a National Convention. Churches must open their doors, civil society must mobilise, workers must march, and the diaspora must amplify.
History will not forgive silence. Zimbabwe stands at the edge: either we break the mafia grip or we bury the dream of freedom.
The Sopranos of State House have had their season. Now it is time for citizens to reclaim the republic.
Fikile wa Motsamai is a political commentator based in Johannesburg.
fikile.ntolilo@gmail.com
Zimbabwe is no longer under the rule of a political party - it is under the grip of a mafia cartel dressed in liberation colours.
Revolutionaries lost power to gukurahundistas a long time ago. Zanu PF has mutated from a liberation movement into a looting machine, suffocating the nation with greed, intimidation, and betrayal. The rot is total, the stakes are national, and the time for silence is over.
A Politburo of Gangsters
The recent politburo chaos laid everything bare. Vice-President Chiwenga storms in with a dossier alleging that US$3.2 billion was siphoned through Sakunda Holdings, with President Mnangagwa himself as the "ultimate beneficiary."
Instead of accountability, the gukurahundista mafia dons turned the meeting into a shouting circus. Mnangagwa retaliated by deploying his enforcer, Chris Mutsvangwa, to publicly humiliate Chiwenga. This was not governance. It was gangster politics - a mafia turf war over stolen billions, while citizens starve.
A Cartelised Economy of Loot
US$3.2 billion is only the tip of the iceberg. Gold smuggling, fuel cartels, tenderpreneurs - the entire economy has been captured and auctioned to Zanu PF's gukurahundista cartels.
The party itself never saw the billions according to Chiwenga. Instead, the loot went to build patronage networks, with Wicknell Chivayo and Scott Sakupwanya playing the role of flamboyant bagmen. Citizens are left with empty shelves, blackout nights, and collapsing hospitals, while the dons cruise in convoys.
This is not leadership. It is organised plunder.
Rule Through Fear
Every mafia survives on fear. Zanu PF runs no different. Mnangagwa distrusts his own deputies, shutting them out of key briefings. Chiwenga flexes his coup credentials, reminding all that he has toppled a leader before.
This is not a government of laws - it is a gang of men threatening each other with knives, while the nation bleeds. Citizens are not protected; they are hostages.
Betrayal of Liberation
The betrayal is complete. Zimbabweans who fought for justice and freedom are now ruled by racketeers in designer suits. Liberation has been replaced with looting. Dignity replaced with despair. The blood of the liberation struggle has been traded for Lamborghinis and offshore accounts.
Let us be clear: the gukurahundistas are not custodians of independence. They are grave-diggers of the revolution.
The Call: National Convention Now
Zanu PF cannot reform itself. You cannot ask the thief to guard the vault. Every succession battle is about who controls the cartel, not who serves the nation.
The solution is clear and urgent: a National Convention - a gathering of citizens, civil society, churches, labour, business, and opposition forces. From it must emerge a National Transitional Authority (NTA) to:
Smash the cartels and reclaim the economy.
Restore the rule of law and rebuild independent institutions.
Prepare for free, fair, credible elections.
South Africa had CODESA. Liberia and Sierra Leone dismantled warlords through transitional authorities. Zimbabwe must seize this same path - or sink deeper into mafia captivity.
Conclusion: Citizens Must Rise
Zanu PF's mafia wars are not internal party issues - they are national emergencies. Billions vanish while children drop out of school. Hospitals collapse while party elites build mansions. Fear rules while hope dies.
The nation cannot afford spectatorship. Citizens must rise, speak, organise, and demand a National Convention. Churches must open their doors, civil society must mobilise, workers must march, and the diaspora must amplify.
History will not forgive silence. Zimbabwe stands at the edge: either we break the mafia grip or we bury the dream of freedom.
The Sopranos of State House have had their season. Now it is time for citizens to reclaim the republic.
Fikile wa Motsamai is a political commentator based in Johannesburg.
fikile.ntolilo@gmail.com
Source - Fikile wa Motsamai ka Malikongwa
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