Military Now Awaits Final Test On Friday
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s media briefing with local editors at State House on Tuesday was a strategic move to defuse growing political tensions and de-escalate the explosive situation which was fast “reaching new levels” in his intensifying leadership succession brinkmanship with Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, a former army general for over decade, military sources told The NewsHawks last night.
Soon after the media briefing with carefully selected editors from the state-controlled and private media – whose editorial thrusts have now mainly converged with a few exceptions amid manufactured consensus on national political discourse – the sources who told NewsHawks in early January that a political storm was gathering on the horizon and would burst into a torrent of militant activities during Chiwenga’s stint as acting President in the last two weeks of the month said Mnangagwa was badly rattled by recent events and pressure from the Vice President’s military-backed Zanu PF faction exerted by proxy through war veterans.
The sources initially said in early January that Chiwenga would unleash his foot soldiers against Mnangagwa during his stint as acting President. And he did.
The NewsHawks had taken a careful approach on that and used the information sparingly.
The script is the same and denouement might be the same, achieving a similar outcome using different delivery methods, particularly one based on a popular democratic expression of discontent and street protests which Chiwenga and his military backers may support.
The sequence of events has been dramatic and moving at a pulsating pace.
Mnangagwa went on leave on 30 December 2024, although he remained vigilant and engaged.
He began his month-long annual vacation on 31 December 2024.
Co-Vice President Kembo Mohadi first acted as President from 31 December 2024 to 19 January 2025.
Thereafter, Chiwenga took over until Mnangagwa returned in early February 2025.
While Mnangagwa was away, Chiwenga launched attacks on how the country is being governed and a blitz on corruption by “zvigananda” (pot-bellied corrupt dealers), clearly referring to tenderpreneur Wicknell Chivayo who is Mnangagwa’s close associate.
Chivayo publicly says he has a firm grip on the President.
The Zec corruption scandal involved secretary to president and cabinet Martin Rushwaya, Mnangagwa’s daughter Chido, the electoral body chairperson Priscilla Chigumba and former state security agency, Central Intelligence Organisation Director-General Isaac Moyo, among others.
He looked uncomfortable and even irritated when talking about Chivayo.
In the process, Mnangagwa denied responsibility on Chivayo as he did on 2030, continuing his chronic denialist streak.
A chronic denialist consistently denies the truth or reality even when presented with evidence that it is true and common cause.
Consistent with what the military sources said in early January, when Chiwenga was acting President, war veterans launched a fierce attack on Mnangagwa from different directions – left, right and centre – with the capital Harare and Bulawayo, the second-largest city, as the main theatres of action.
Their assault on the President was premised on third term issues and that he has dismally failed to govern amid stinging accusations of corruption, nepotism, cronyism and looting.
They demanded that he must go and go immediately.
The ex-combatants, who spearheaded the attack on the late former president Robert Mugabe in 2017 prior to the November coup that year, practically declared war on Mnangagwa over his noisy allies’ campaign to extend his rule beyond his 2028 second constitutional limit to 2030, a disguised third term bid.
Mnangagwa’s allies fought back at the war veterans, particularly Blessed Geza who became their most radical manifestation.
He told editors he will go when his second term ends in 2028, claiming to be a “constitutionalist” when he initially came to power through a coup.
The editors did not ask him how is he a “constitutionalist” when he first came to power through a coup to begin with – a creature of an overthrow of the constitution – and has an atrocious record of constitutional violations, including on how he kept Chief Justice Luke Malaba in office beyond his retirement limit.
That misleading claim sits at the heart of his current third campaign and deception, which he sought to manage yesterday.
Mnangagwa has been indicating right and turning left on this issue; he would usually say he is not going to extend his rule beyond 2028, as he did yesterday, but soon after that invite his political allies and supporters to his Precabe Farm in Sherwood, Kwekwe, to intensify the campaign.
A top military source told The NewsHawks last night:”Mnangagwa held yesterday’s editors briefing to de-escalate political tensions and prevent what he now knows is coming ahead.
If he doesn’t climb down, they are coming for him.
And he knows that. He was put overwhelming pressure through Chiwenga in their meetings in the past two weeks and he is relenting, although he can’t be trusted.
After allowing his political allies and supporters to campaign for a third term and forcing through a critical resolution at the Zanu PF annual conference in Bulawayo last October, Mnangagwa’s plan has unravelled and is coming to a screeching halt. The display of military hardware in Harare yesterday was widely seen as a flexing of muscles by Chiwenga’s faction, signalling their readiness to take control. Military sources and analysts saw it as significant show of power by the army which has leverage on local politics. Armoured personnel carriers are designed to transport troops and equipment in combat zones, providing protection from enemy fire. Their display in a public setting is intended to demonstrate the army’s military capabilities and strength.
The struggle stemming from an unresolved leadership issue has been simmering for sometime, with Chiwenga reportedly consolidating support within the military and the ruling Zanu PF party to block Mnangagwa’s bid to extend his rule beyond the constitutional limit of two terms.
The source added: “The biggest test of sincerity for him will be during the National Youth Day commemorations in Bulawayo on Friday where he will be the guest of honour. If he allows the 2030 brigade and its slogans to be chanted after yesterday’s events at State House, that becomes the final evidence he is misleading the nation and action will follow.”
After his holidays and sensing danger when he returned to work in early February, while fearing an escalation beyond a point of no-return, the President did not respond directly.
Mnangagwa did not want Chiwenga and his troops to cross Rubicon.So instead he unleashed his loyal political storm-troopers, leading the 2030 campaign, to go after Geza.
Party officials, youth league leaders and ministers fell over each other to attack Geza and other war veterans, vowing the 2030 campaign was irreversible.
In a bid to silence the war veterans, Mnangagwa’s allies deployed police to specifically crackdown on Geza, coming up four criminal charges against him, including one of allegedly undermining the authority of and insulting the President.
They even contemplated a murder charge against him.
Police are hunting for Geza who now faces four criminal charges, including allegedly undermining the authority of and insulting the President.
They also contemplating a murder charge against him.
In the meantime, Mnangagwa was planning how to respond.
So before he left for the African Union summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Friday, the President agreed with his spokesman George Charamba – who is a Chiwenga ally – to hold a media briefing with editors to respond to the escalating succession battle and the economic woes fuelling it.
Charamba – a political square peg in a round hole – betrayed Mugabe and is doing the same to Mnangagwa.
Instead of inviting all editors in an inclusive and representative way, Charamba deployed retired Major Anywhere Mutambudzi, Chief Director Strategic Communications, Presidential Communications, Office of the President and Cabinet, to call individuals of his choice and liking to attend.
He cherry-picked editors of his choice in order to have a controlled engagement with Mnangagwa with limited questions that go to the heart of the matter.
The issue of Chiwenga and his military-backed faction, and Geza as their sharpshooter, for instance, did not arise when it is the most topical manifestation of the deep-seated problem.Charamba’s approach was unprocedural, unprofessional and counter-productive to Mnangagwa’s detriment.
He left out what is generally referred to as digital or online media and only invited editors from “mainstream media”, meaning traditional media houses; conventional or legacy media.
Ironically, Mnangagwa said in his speech old media is dead, a stunning attack on Charamba’s dinosaur communication mindset, meaning all media is now online or digital, exposing his spokesman’s Neanderthal approach.
By excluding digital online media, Charamba undermined the government’s claims of inclusivity and diversity, as well as promoting transparency and accountability.
This move could further erode trust between the government and the media, making it more challenging for Mnangagwa to put across his side of the story and narrative amid this storm.
Some state-controlled media editors in Harare did not even know about the meeting until late on Sunday when they were invited in an unstructured way, while editors from Bulawayo were already on the road to Harare.
Some private media editors had already been invited.
The approach was haphazard.
Usually, government media liaisons officers the world over invite media organisations who then put their best foot forward by deploying their own reporters or editors out of professional and competence considerations, not approach individuals through a dodgy partisan process which was not inclusive of the full plurality and diversity of the media on the ground.
Ironically, those who were not invited were well aware of the meeting since last week, and the censorship approach to it.
Mnangagwa says he had always wanted to meet media, but yesterday’s briefing was about de-escalating political tensions and calming troubled economic waters, a culmination of a combination of factors.
By engaging with the media, Mnangagwa also wanted create a more favourable narrative for himself – repeating he will quit when his second term ends in 2028.
It was good news for Chiwenga and his military-backed faction, including his apparatchiks like Charamba, but the military-backed faction is certain that Mnangagwa is misleading the nation.So they remain in the trenches.
While it was good news for Charamba who wants Mnangagwa to go, it was bad news for the President’s allies allies, including Information minister Jenfan Muswere who did not attend the editors’ briefing, together with his permanent secretary Nick Mangwana, which was organised by the Presidential Communications Department.
There is friction between the ministry and the department, that is Muswere and Charamba. It was on full display yesterday.
However, this move comes amid rising internal conflicts within the ruling Zanu PF.
Recent events involving war veterans have added to the sense of unease and insecurity, with some insiders interpreting these incidents as symbols of growing tensions and discord within the party’s upper echelons.
Authoritarian regimes rupture when there is an elite cohesion breakdown and infighting.Zanu PF has undergone these episodes many times before, including in 2017.
Mnangagwa’s administration has been under scrutiny for its incompetent handling of the economy and human rights violations.
The president’s disputed re-election in 2023 and the subsequent political tensions have raised concerns about the country’s political stability and the potential for further unrest.
By holding the media briefing, Mnangagwa was trying to regain control of the narrative and reassure the public that he is still in control, while managing the military by promising to go in 2028, temporarily making a strategic retreat in the process.
Friday will be a major test for Mnangagwa, who will be guest of honour at National Youth Day commemorations in Bulawayo, and his allies.
Chiwenga’s efforts to tighten his grip on the military are evident, with the recent appointments of his allies, Zimbabwe National Army commander Lieutenant-General Anselem Sanyatwe and Air Marshal John Jacob Nzvede, as the army and air force chiefs respectively. This manoeuvre was seen as a strategic move to position Chiwenga’s allies in influential posts, paving the way for a major political assault for power.
Mnangagwa, on the other hand, still maintains control through Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander General Philip Valerio Sibanda who he recently extended his tenure by a year. That came as Sibanda was expected to leave the army as Chiwenga saw an opportunity to further consolidate his power. Mnangagwa tried to bring Sibanda to mainstream politics by appointing him to the Zanu PF decision-making politburo to checkmate Chiwenga, but the move failed as it was unconstitutional.
It is about who will blink first: Mnangagwa or Chiwenga. – The News Hawks
