By Beaven Dhliwayo
Harare –The raging infighting within the ruling Zanu Pf party is going to cost it the crunch 2018 elections as it will face a strong opposition which is planning a grand coalition which has being touted as the only means to end the long grip of President Robert Mugabe on power.
President Mugabe has been the only leader Zimbabweans have known since the country attained independence from Britain in 1980 and his long rule has seen the country plunge from a jewel of the continent to a basket case while his party has evolved from a strong former liberation movement to an outfit that is tottering under deadly factional fights.
The infighting revolves around two factions within the party, one known as Team Lacoste which is pushing for President Mugabe to hand over power to his deputy Emerson Mnangagwa and the other made up of young ambitious Turks known by the moniker Generation 40 (G40) fronted by Professor Jonathan Moyo, Saviour Kasukuwere and President Mugabe’s nephew Patrick Zhuwawo which is rabidly opposed to the ascendency of Mnangagwa.
It is widely believed that the G40 faction wants First Lady Grace Mugabe to succeed President Mugabe and has the backing of the veteran ruler, who has hinted that she had matured politically over the years and that none of the his deputies were suitable to take over from him, a charge which Grace has also confirmed.
As an experienced politician Mnangagwa has been keeping his cards to his chest but his backers are becoming increasingly impatient to see him take the baton from President Mugabe, who they say is no longer sellable to the electorate to stand in 2018.
Facebook and Twitter profiles of Gokwe-Nembudziya legislator Justice Mayor Wadyajena and controversial businessman-cum musician Energy Mutodi are now the go-to platforms to gauge the mood in the Lacoste camp in as much as Profile Moyo’s Twitter timeline reflects the thinking within his G40 faction.
“The year 2017 may see Mnangagwa being elevated to President and he is most likely to pick Constantino Guvheya Chiwenga [national army commander] as his deputy and Kembo Mohadi [State Security Minister] as second vice-president while other security chiefs will be assigned to powerful Ministries,” Mutodi wrote on Facebook on New Year’s Eve just hours before he was pictured with the then acting President at his homestead in Mapanzure village, Zvishavane in the Midlands province.
Mnangagwa was pictured knocking back what appeared to be whisky from a mug written, “I am The Boss” during a Christmas party which was attended by at least two dozen individuals who were either suspended or expelled from Zanu PF.
These included former Matabeleland South party youth chairman Washington Nkomo, his Mashonaland Central counterpart, Godfrey Tsenengamu, Edmore Samambwa from Midlands, Tawanda Mukodza (Manicaland) and Vengayi Musengi from Mashonaland West.
The mug fiasco has given ammunition to the VP’s rivals in G40 who say it is enough proof that he is plotting against Mugabe.
Mnangagwa reacted by distancing himself from Mutodi and the Chris Mutsvangwa-led war veterans who have openly called on Mugabe to make way for his junior.
The events have proved that G40 controls the party through one of its kingpins Kasukuwere who is the party national political commissar, while Lacoste controls the state machinery headed mostly by war veterans.
Lacoste members, who are being expelled from the party, see Mugabe as authorizing the purging and thus [they are] venting their anger on him.
The members expelled from the party remain loyal to Mnangagwa and they continue to support him as they believe President Mugabe supports G40 and therefore sanctioned their ejection.
A communiqué by provincial chairpersons censuring Mnangagwa over the “Boss” mug showed that G40 controls party structures and it is taking the opportunity to deal decisively with Mnangagwa.
The leadership of the war veterans, led by former cabinet Minister Christopher Mutsvangwa, was expelled from the party after it openly challenged President Mugabe to retire and hand over power to VP Mnangagwa.
The conflict within Zanu Pf will expose the party to a heavy defeat in 2018 as both factions do not appeal to the ordinary person with Mnangagwa viewed with suspicion by many who accuse him of using an iron fist for his selfish ends.
There is well documented history of his abuse of various public positions he has held to cause harm, misery and worse to people who disagreed with him or did not associate with his politics in the country’s dark past.
He is known for his penchant for the capture and abuse of state institutions, as well as being sly and ruthless, an attribute which has earned him the nickname Ngwena (crocodile) as evidenced by the manner in which he engineered the fall of former VP Joyce Mujuru in 2014.
While being the better of two devils, Mnangagwa has shown that the law and public interest do not matter to him and his being the face of the party in 2018 will make it suffer defeat at the hands of an organized opposition.
The G40 on the other hand is unpopular within both the party and the country at large and presenting Grace as its candidate it in 2018 will be costly as Zimbabweans are opposed to the idea of a Mugabe dynasty as well as her lack of tact, charisma and drive to take the party forward.
Worse still Grace has made enemies with the army generals and war veterans, who have been crucial to Mugabe’s and Zanu PF’s grip on power for the past 37 years.
Also Grace is associated with President Mugabe’s legacy of failure hence no one will vote for her and her party, which spells its inevitable demise.
The defeat of Zanu PF is therefore unavoidable unless it stops the deadly infighting immediately as it may still ride on its legacy of having brought independence to the country.
The patience of the people has been stretched to the limit and they want change at any cost.
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