Bulawayo – The recently concluded Zanu-PF conference in Bulawayo has laid bare a significant rift within the ruling party, highlighting the intensifying power struggle surrounding President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s succession.
The event, which concluded yesterday at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair, saw open displays of factionalism and alleged attempts to manipulate the outcome.
A contentious resolution, pushed through by Mnangagwa loyalists, calls for a constitutional amendment to extend his tenure beyond 2028, when his second term ends. This “ED2030” campaign, however, is facing stiff resistance from a faction believed to be supporting Vice President Constantino Chiwenga as the next Zanu-PF leader. This resistance manifested itself in several ways during the conference.
A number of officials from the Zanu-PF Harare provincial executive were ejected from the conference venue on Friday. These officials, accused of belonging to the “Hwedza Team”—a faction allegedly backing Chiwenga—included provincial youth league commissar Kudakwashe Damson, Eddie Ringwa (secretary for lands), Boessing Kambumu (technology secretary), and others.
Damson’s official vehicle was reportedly seized in Harare before his departure for Bulawayo, following a heated central committee meeting where provincial chairman Goodswill Masimirembwa directly targeted him.
The factionalism extended beyond physical expulsions. Reports indicate that suspected Chiwenga supporters were removed from Zanu-PF affiliated WhatsApp groups in Harare and Mutare. Furthermore, allegations surfaced of officials distributing money to delegates in an attempt to influence them to jeer Chiwenga on the final day of the conference, due to his opposition to the ED2030 campaign.
Despite the passage of the resolution calling for constitutional amendments, Zanu-PF’s secretary for legal affairs, Patrick Chinamasa, revealed that President Mnangagwa himself has stated he will not serve beyond 2028.
In a statement clarifying the party’s position, Chinamasa said: “So, where we stand, distinguished delegates, is that of all the resolutions, there is one resolution which cannot be implemented without the express consent and agreement of His Excellency, President Dr Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa. And on Monday, when he told me this, he said, feel free to tell them you consulted me, which is what I am conveying to you this afternoon.
“So, we will have our resolution, but I think we must understand, coming from here, that it will not go anywhere, because His Excellency is emphatic that when 2028 comes, he will not serve beyond that date. He is very emphatic that he had a hand in the drafting and crafting of this constitution, and he cannot be seen nationally, globally, to be the first to violate what he put in place.”
“So eventually the ‘reluctant’ Mnangagwa will be nudged and persuaded to accept the people’s will,” Mzembi stated.
“If you want to see how serious this matter is go to the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs where scenario papers were produced way back and are ready to be actualised on the back of this much awaited conference resolution. They include a 2030 two-year extension, a 2034 third term scenario and a 2038 scenario including a 10-year moratorium on elections to allow recovery and consolidation of the economy as an excuse quid pro quo with unipolar politics inside Parliament.”
Legal experts have expressed strong reservations about the feasibility and implications of the proposed constitutional amendment. Constitutional law expert and former Finance minister Tendai Biti warned that such a move could plunge Zimbabwe into chaos.
“It will put the country into a situation where it is not reproachable. (Mnangagwa is) setting himself up for a disastrous hurricane. He is not going to win the war. The biggest thing that we did in the last 15 years was to come up to that constitution with the term limit. So, for Emmerson to contribute to that and reverse history, if you sow a storm — he is going to reap a hurricane, he is going to harvest a hurricane. And no one can control the hurricane. No one can control the tsunami,” Biti said.
Lovemore Madhuku, another legal expert, echoed these concerns, asserting that the Zanu-PF faction pushing for a third term lacks the legal understanding to achieve their goal.
“From a legal point of view, I don’t think they even know what is required. They are likely to be making one blunder after another, so they cannot even succeed legally. In other words, they do not have the capacity to understand what the constitution requires for them to remove the two-term limit. That is the first problem they face. I’m sure I don’t want to be sad. Zanu PF does not have sufficient legal acumen within their circles to be able to tackle that,” Madhuku said.
He further argued that the push could create a constitutional crisis, lacking both political and legal support.
“So, politically, that resolution doesn’t mean what it says. It doesn’t have the support, that political support you think it has. What they are saying there is that the majority of Zanu PF people believe in the opposite of what that resolution says. Only that in the political world, they exist. They don’t care for the moment. They know when the time comes, they won’t do it,” he explained.
Political analyst Eldred Masunungure suggested that the matter might ultimately be resolved through negotiation, with the military playing a significant role.
“It is more likely that the matter will be settled through negotiations among the major gladiators in the party and, critically, the military. This is not just a party matter; the military has a strong vested interest in how the issue is settled and will be at the negotiating table when the matter is discussed to its finality,” Masunugure said.
This assessment is supported by reports that the ED2030 agenda has found little support within the military, with many security chiefs departing the conference before Chinamasa’s announcement. The internal struggle within Zanu-PF continues to unfold, with significant implications for Zimbabwe’s political landscape.
