PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has deployed Zanu PF bigwigs
in three provinces that are being ravaged by ugly infighting ahead of the
party’s District Co-ordinating Committee (DCC) elections.
Zanu PF national
political commissar, Victor Matemadanda, pictured, confirmed to the Daily News yesterday that the
former liberation movement was probing the chaos consuming some of its
provinces, although he would not give finer details.
This comes as there are widening fissures in the ruling
party, which was split in the middle during the last few years in power of the
country’s late former president Robert Mugabe — who was toppled from power by a
stunning and popular military coup in November 2017.
It also comes as Zanu PF
recently suspended politburo members Cleveria Chizema and Tendai
Savanhu, over allegations of destabilising the party.
Matemadanda told the Daily News yesterday that the party
would not brook any turmoil in the impending DCC polls, as well as the
forthcoming national by-elections — following allegations of rampant
vote-buying and the imposition of candidates in some provinces.
“As long as the rules are not followed, we will overturn
the results. We want leaders who come through an election where there was
strict adherence to the rules.
“We will not accept leaders who come from someone’s
pocket,” Matemadanda said without elaborating further.
However, party
insiders told the Daily News yesterday that factionalism was especially rife in
the three provinces of Mashonaland East, Mashonaland Central and the Midlands.
This had seen Mnangagwa deploying senior party officials,
including former Cabinet minister Christopher Mushohwe, to lead probes in the
troubled provinces.
Apart from the chaos that has hit the DCC polls, insiders
also said Zanu PF was probing alleged vote-buying and the imposition of
candidates in the Midlands and Mashonaland West provinces.
Mashonaland East provincial commissar, Herbert Shumbamhini,
confirmed to the Daily News that they had nullified last week’s CV-collection
exercise for those wishing to contest in DCC elections, due to rampant
violations of party regulations.
He added that there had also been numerous complaints that
Zanu PF provincial bigwigs in Mutoko had allegedly refused to accept
applications of several potential candidates that they deemed to be a threat to
their ambitions.
“There were complaints by some disgruntled potential
candidates who felt that they had been unjustly blocked from submitting their
CVs.
“So, we are going to be re-doing the exercise under the
supervision of Comrade Mushohwe,” Shumbamhini said.
On his part,
Mashonaland Central provincial chairperson Kazembe Kazembe also confirmed that
there was serious mudslinging in the province — amid allegations that some MPs
and other senior party members were working with suspected Generation 40 (G4O)
kingpins to manipulate internal elections.
“Elections come and go and they should not divide the Zanu
PF big family. Provincial, national consultative assembly and central committee
members should not interfere or manipulate the DCC elections.
“People should be allowed to choose who they want. People
should be allowed to submit their CVs freely. No one should be barred from
submitting their CV at provincial level,” he told the Daily News.
“Allegations of connivance between MPs and G40 elements
will be unearthed by the party’s security machinery.
“It must also be noted that every time there are elections
there are always allegations and counter allegations. It’s typical of
elections.
Meanwhile, Zanu PF insiders also said at the centre of the
brawling in Midlands was the race to fill the vacant Kwekwe Central seat
following the death of MP Masango Matambanadzo in July.
In this light, there was an apparent fierce tussle between
Energy Ncube — who is believed to be related to State Security minister Owen
Ncube — and Kandros Mugabe, who reportedly enjoys the backing of Matemadanda
and Local Government minister July Moyo.
Similar problems were being experienced in various
districts in Mashonaland West, including Chegutu, Kadoma and Mhondoro.
Meanwhile, political analysts have told the Daily News that
the current chaos being witnessed in the ruling party reflected growing
factionalism in the former liberation movement.
University of Zimbabwe political science lecturer, Eldred
Masunungure, said the ructions around the DCC elections mirrored the
factionalism that was consuming Zanu PF at politburo and central committee
levels.
“The fights are not a monopoly of the DCCs. It must be
understood that this structure is a critical cog of the party as it serves as
the bridge between the top leadership and the grassroots.
“Factionalism is thus most visible there because there is
more freedom for political gladiation than in the top echelons of the party.
So, factionalists use that structure to advance their cause,” Masunungure told
the Daily News.
“The fact that they (DCCs) were banned before means that
they are vulnerable to factionalists at the higher levels of power, and it will
not be surprising if they are banned again.
Another political
analyst, Admire Mare, said factionalism was now part of the country’s
politics.
“The issue is that factionalism and favouritism are deeply
ingrained in our national and party politics, hence these issues are likely to
recur.
“Furthermore, we have a winner-takes-all kind of politics
which creates unnecessary competition and backbiting to the detriment of the
party and national politics,” he said.
DCCs were disbanded in 2012 after they were deemed to be
fanning factionalism during Mnangagwa and former vice president Joice Mujuru’s
battles to succeed Mugabe.
Mnangagwa’s faction had gained control of most provinces
then, including Mujuru’s Mashonaland Central province — putting him in a strong
position ahead of the Zanu PF congress in 2014.
On Wednesday, Mnangagwa said he was aware of the brawling
surrounding the DCCs and went on to warn party members to remain disciplined.
“The re-introduction of the District Co-ordination
Committees must serve as a mechanism to further consolidate our party’s
mobilisation strategy at the grassroots level.
“I, therefore, exhort the leadership and the structures of
the party to consolidate our democratic internal processes and culture.
“Undemocratic behaviour such as the imposition of
candidates, vote buying and other electoral malpractices divide the party, they
must not be tolerated at whatever level,” Mnangagwa said in his address to the
politburo this week.
“To be a good leader one must be prepared to be a good
follower. These DCC elections and upcoming by-elections must, therefore, consolidate
our party’s indisputable dominance and peaceful democratic culture in the
country,” Mnangagwa added.
During Mugabe’s last few years in power, Mnangagwa was
involved in a hammer and tongs war with the party’s G40 faction which had
coalesced around the nonagenarian’s erratic wife Grace.
The vicious brawling
took a nasty turn when Mnangagwa was allegedly poisoned by his rivals during
one of Mugabe’s highly-divisive youth interface rallies in Gwanda
in 2017.
His fate was eventually sealed on November 6, 2017 when
Mugabe fired his long-time lieutenant a few days after the then VP’s allies had
booed the irascible Grace during a tense rally at White City Stadium in
Bulawayo.
However, tables were dramatically turned on Mugabe when the
military rolled in their tanks on November 15 of that year and deposed the
long-ruling leader from power — which saw a number of alleged G40 kingpins
fleeing into self-imposed exile soon afterwards.
But despite Mnangagwa’s ascendancy to power, some ambitious
bigwigs in the former liberation movement continue to stand accused of plotting
to unseat the new Zanu PF leader. Daily News
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