Outspoken Zanu PF politburo member Tshinga Dube has once again waded into the sensitive issue of presidential succession, this time indirectly cautioning President Emmerson Mnangagwa against seeking a third term in office.
Dube, a decorated liberation war veteran, expressed his concerns during the burial of fellow war hero Killion Dube, who passed away on August 25th at the age of 89.
“There are various opinions on the succession issue. Most of the members in the party have said he should hang on to power, but he has said that he will follow the Constitution,” Dube told mourners at the Lady Stanley cemetery on Sunday.
“We have not heard him saying he wants to cling on to power beyond his term of office, but we should know that while men propose, God disposes.”
Dube, known for his forthrightness, expressed reservations about the advice being given to Mnangagwa, suggesting that some advisors are motivated by self-interest rather than the nation’s well-being.
“Advisers are problematic, those advising him are only looking at things that benefit themselves only,” he said.
“We must be careful with advice that we give to the President so that it does not benefit individuals only because we want his legacy to remain; these things can destroy his legacy after working so hard as minister, survived hangman’s noose and at the end of the day his legacy is destroyed like that.”
Dube’s comments echo a similar stance he took in 2017, when he openly urged then-President Robert Mugabe to name his successor amidst growing tensions within Zanu PF over the succession issue.
Tshinga Dube, who held several high-ranking positions in the army before his retirement, among them commander of the Signals Directorate, told Mugabe that there was nothing sinister about the ex-combatants calling on Mugabe to provide clarity on who should take over from him upon vacating the top office.
“Sometimes people don’t understand them (war veterans); for instance when they said they are now looking at the future leadership. Some people think they mean to say they are being disloyal to our president, no not at all,” he remarked.
“There is nothing wrong with talking about the succession. Succession is not a crime to talk about. This happens in every country. All the war veterans are saying is he (Mugabe) must groom the next leader, whatever happens, whether he retires or anything happens to him there is somebody we know,” said Dube in June 2017, about five months before Mugabe was unceremoniously removed from power through a military coup led by army general Constantino Chiwenga.
Mugabe, who was 93 years old at the time, reportedly engaged Tshinga Dube over the succession issue, telling him that he had not named his successor “as that was the prerogative of the Congress”.
Tshinga said that the veteran leader had told him that he was only constitutionally empowered to name his deputies not his heir .
“I do not want to dwell on that problem anymore. He [Mugabe] has said the problem of choosing his successor lies with Congress. I have just put a full stop on that issue. I am not going to discuss it anymore because my Commander-in-Chief has said so. I do not want to appear like I am raising issues against him,” Dube was quoted as saying.
However, speculation persists about Mnangagwa’s intentions regarding a potential third term, particularly given the party’s recent constitutional amendments that lifted the two-term limit for the president.
The decorated war veteran’s outspokenness has earned him both praise and criticism within Zanu PF. Some view him as a voice of reason and a champion of the party’s founding principles, while others see him as a troublemaker who is undermining the party’s unity.
Regardless of the perspective, Dube’s willingness to speak his mind on sensitive issues has solidified his reputation as a prominent figure within Zimbabwean politics.
