President Emmerson Mnangagwa is facing a tough balancing
act in appointing his two deputies amid indications he is under pressure to reward the
military for playing a pivotal role in
removing long-time ruler Robert Mugabe.
Mnangagwa deferred appointing the vice-presidents at the
just-ended Zanu PF congress, saying he needed to wait for certain institutional
processes.
Analysts said the statement showed Mugabe’s successor
wanted to appoint Zimbabwe Defence
Forces (ZDF) commander General Constantino Chiwenga as one of his deputies.
Mnangagwa, the analysts said, was under pressure to appease
the military.
“I don’t envy President Mnangagwa’s current position,” said
UK based political analyst and former media lecturer, Reward Mushayabasa. “He
seems to be in a very invidious position where he has to balance the competing
interests of all the stakeholders who cleared the way for his ascendancy to
power,” Mushayabasa said.
He said because Mnangagwa owed his current position to the
military, it made him feel extremely beholden to them.
“We all know that Mnangagwa did not get into power through
a credible democratic process. He came to power through a soft putsch staged by
the army generals with the backing of the war veterans.”
“Against this murky political background, I am not
surprised by the ever-increasing militarisation of his government.
Mnangagwa is just confirming what some of us suspected long
ago. That he is a lame duck president.
“He is beholden to the military and the war veterans and
cannot make his own independent decisions. Until he submits himself to a
credible free and democratic general election, ‘the military influence’ in his
government will continue to be his Achilles’ heel.”
A source within the ruling party who claimed to know “the
plan with the VP appointments”, however, said Chiwenga and Defence minister
Kembo Mohadi are tipped for appointment this week.
Mnangagwa was expected to announce his two VPs at the
just-ended Zanu PF special congress but deferred it to this week to clear what
he described as “institutional” requirements likely associated with the
possible retirement of Chiwenga as commander of the defence forces.
Lawyer, Chris Mhike said in an interview yesterday that the
Constitution of Zimbabwe did not compel the president to defer his choice of
vice-presidents to any “institutions.”
He said the supreme law of the land simply stated that
after the resignation of a president and the subsequent appointment of a
replacement thereof, the new president must “without delay,” appoint a
qualified person or qualified persons to fill in any vacant VP position.
“Without making reference to any institution, the
Constitution directs the president to “appoint not more than two
vice-presidents, who hold office at his or herpleasure.” The president’s delay
to appoint VPs in the present case is more likely to be a case of intra-party
political dynamics rather than constitutional hindrances.”
“If there should be any legal complications related to the
delay, those hitches could possibly be linked to the apparent removal of
Phelekezela Mphoko from office without due regard to the standing
constitutional provisions on the resignation or removal from the office of a
vice-president. There are worrisome legal loose ends on the Mphoko affair.”
He said Mnangagwa could well be aware of the possibility of
a legal challenge to the appointment of a replacement to Mphoko.
“The identity of the person or persons who shall be
appointed as VPs is anybody’s guess. If General Constantino Chiwenga should be
one of the candidates, he seems to me to be qualified at law for such an
appointment, subject of course to his resignation from ZDF. It would be
unlawful for him to simultaneously hold the positions of commander of the ZDF
and VP of the Republic of Zimbabwe,” Mhike said.
Prior to the congress, social media was awash with rumours
that Environment minister Oppah Muchinguri would be appointed as one of the
VPs, but Mnangagwa instead opted to give her the party’s chair, making her the
first-ever female chairperson of Zanu PF.
Mnangagwa made several changes to the Zanu PF politburo
after promising that all party politburo members would retain their positions.
The omission of Mohadi, whose secretary for security position was given to
party chief whip Lovemore Matuke, triggered speculation that the VP position
had been reserved for the Defence, Security and War Veterans minister.
Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya-Moyo yesterday refused to
be drawn into the speculation, saying the appointment of VPs was Mnangagwa’s
prerogative.
“The appointment of VPs of the party is his prerogative and
we are not favoured with reasons. We cannot discuss that, the reasons are
purely his,” Khaya-Moyo said.
A senior party official who requested anonymity, however,
said: “I am certain Mohadi will be the vice-president, unless there are changes
to the earlier plan.”
“This is the reason why he was excluded from the list of
politburo members, because his position is already reserved,” said the
official.
“The other VP position is likely to go to General Chiwenga.
This has always been part of the plan.”
Before the special congress, Mohadi was said to be among
the top contenders for the post on the Zapu side on a list which included
Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda and party spokesperson Khaya
Moyo, who eventually retained his position as secretary for information and
publicity.
In former president Robert Mugabe’s administration, VPs did
not hold other positions in the politburo except that of being the party’s
second secretaries.
Mohadi has been a firm member of Mnangagwa’s Team Lacoste
faction and had been listed by G40 for expulsion due to his strong ties with
the then VP.
According to the Zanu PF constitution, one of the two VPs
should come from Zapu in line with the Unity Accord signed in 1987 between
Mugabe and the late Zapu leader Joshua Nkomo.
On the Zanu side, speculation has shifted from Muchinguri
to Chiwenga and Sekeramayi, who lost his politburo post of secretary for war
veterans to Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association secretary
general Victor Matemadanda.
Speculation on Chiwenga was buttressed by Mnangagwa’s
statement when he deferred the appointment of VPs, saying there were some
institutions involved.
This has triggered speculation that he would need to retire
Chiwenga first before appointing him his deputy in appreciation of the role he
played towards his ascendency to the presidency.
Chiwenga led the military to push Mugabe out of office and
so far, a number of military commanders who were involved in the operation
which thwarted the rise of former first lady Grace Mugabe to the top post, have
been rewarded with top government and Zanu PF posts. Standard
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