Wanted to enter presidential race, stop Chiwenga – ZimEye

Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) spokesman Christopher Mutsvangwa has blocked Vice President Constantino Chiwenga from taking over power from President Emmerson Mnangagwa and is instead advocating for the election of Mnangagwa’s successor, political reporters are reporting.

Former Norton MP Temba Mliswa has publicly stated that Mutsvangwa harbours aspirations to run for president, and Mutsvangwa’s continued criticism of Chiwenga confirms this.

The internal conflict dates back to the 2017 coup led by Chiwenga that overthrew former President Robert Mugabe and installed Mnangagwa as leader.

The military’s original plan was to promise Mnangagwa two terms before handing power to Chiwenga without an election.

However, Mnangagwa’s supporters, including Mutsvangwa, appear to be reneging on that agreement.

As a staunch ally of Mnangagwa, Mutsvangwa has publicly stated that Chiwenga should run in the election and become Mnangagwa’s successor.

In a recent interview standardHe insisted that “there is no holy ordination in ZANU-PF. ZANU-PF is not a church that ordains priests. The president is not the pope of the Catholic Church nor the archbishop of Canterbury who ordains priests.”

He stressed that all political aspirants must abide by democratic principles, saying: “Everyone who enters politics and aspires to be a leader must abide by the rules, especially the rules of the Revolutionary Democratic Party. That is why the President has said very clearly, ‘I will not usurp the decision-making power of the Zimbabwean people or the members of ZANU-PF – I will retire.'”

Mutsvangwa further compared the way the ruling party operates to religious organisations, arguing that ZANU-PF operates democratically and unlike churches where leaders can unilaterally appoint successors. “ZANU-PF is not Makandiwa’s church where he can say to himself, his wife, his children and his followers that this is my church. President Mnangagwa is an elected leader of a Revolutionary Democratic Party,” he concluded.

A power struggle within the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front has raised questions about Zimbabwe’s future leadership and the party’s commitment to the democratic process amid internal competition.

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