ZANU PF Secretary for Information and Publicity, Christopher Mutsvangwa, has revealed that the party’s youth structures launched the “ED2030” campaign in response to a plot to force President Mnangagwa to name his successor before his term ends in 2028.
Mutsvangwa told The Standard in an interview that there were attempts to “subvert the party constitution” and coerce Mnangagwa into naming his successor before the right time. He claimed that the plot involved exiled former ministers Saviour Kasukuwere and Walter Mzembi. Kasukuwere and Mzembi have repeatedly distanced themselves from the raging ZANU PF succession wars.
Mutsvangwa said the ZANU PF youths had taken a hardline stance on Mnangagwa’s succession because they were agitated by the alleged unconstitutional manoeuvres.
“The youth are just agitated. They are defending their leader. Some people are trying to foist themselves upon the president. There are some outside attempts to push back the calendar of succession so it’s an apparent attack on the president’s authority, so they are now rallying behind the president. But the agenda is coming from outside the party and the youth are aware and they can’t keep quiet when some people are attempting to subvert the constitution, so they are defending both the party and its leader,” Mutsvangwa said.
He said there were plots to impose a new party leader before the expiry of Mnangagwa’s term.
“Some people want to force the president to annoint his successor. There is a party constitution and clear processes, but the youth are questioning; why the rush when we are still far from 2028? Why is there an attempt to push back 2028 to 2024? So the youth want to protect the integrity of the party processes,” Mutsvangwa said.
Mutsvangwa had earlier in the week railed against South African opposition leader Julius Malema for speaking about Mnangagwa’s succession. Speaking at a public lecture, Malema said Vice President Constantino Chiwenga whom many considered to be Mnangagwa’s successor had been weakened.
“When the Malemas start talking of succession and they are not members of the party and they are not Zimbabweans, it creates anxiety for these youths and they develop a defensive attitude and they go for strong leadership that’s why they are saying president hang on (to power) because we want to safeguard the wins, which you are scoring right now. You are scoring wins. We see more coming. It’s a democratic wish on the part of the youth,” Mutsvangwa said.
“They are free to express their wishes just like the women’s league, war veterans. You cannot say they must be stopped from expressing their intention, but at the same time pushing back those who want to become dictators of who should be the ruler of Zimbabwe and who should not. So they are appealing to party leadership to close ranks so that none is found vulnerable to these directed calls from outside parties.”
The political landscape in Zimbabwe is heating up as President Emmerson Mnangagwa has seemingly abandoned the controversial “ED2030” campaign.
The country’s ruling party, ZANU PF, has been embroiled in a power struggle over succession, with factions vying for control following the 2017 coup that ousted former President Robert Mugabe. Mnangagwa’s loyalists have been pushing for him to rule until 2030, which would require amending the country’s constitution to remove presidential term limits.
However, Mnangagwa has now publicly stated that he will not run for a third term, a move that has surprised many within the party. He has declared his commitment to upholding the national constitution and respecting its term limits, stating, “Besides being a soldier, I am a trained lawyer. I am a constitutionalist,” he said. “I want our party, our leadership, our people to be constitutionalists. We must abide by the provisions of our constitution to the letter. Kana nguva yekuti uende [yakwana], enda.” (If your time to go comes, leave.)
This announcement comes as a surprise to many within ZANU PF, who had been pushing for Mnangagwa to remain in power beyond 2028, the end of his second term. Last month in Mutare, Mnangagwa had already hinted at his impending departure, stating, “I did my first five years, so I am serving my last five years, which I will complete soon, and I will go to rest. We will go to Congress and look for someone who will succeed me. My days to rest are close; we will go to Congress and choose the one who will follow in my footsteps.”
The debate over Mnangagwa’s intentions has been further fueled by the recent actions of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga. In a clear sign of his growing discontent with the “ED2030” campaign, Chiwenga has openly criticized the rise of personality cults, power pursuits, and factionalism within ZANU PF.
Chiwenga, who has notably refrained from endorsing the “ED2030” slogan, stressed that loyalty should lie with the party and the people of Zimbabwe, not with individual leaders. “There is no room for factionalism at any level in the party,” Chiwenga stated. “Our loyalty is not to individuals but to the bigger agenda, that of the party and the people of Zimbabwe who are supreme.”
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.
The revelation of this alleged plot to remove Mnangagwa from power before his term has further escalated tensions within ZANU PF.
