Clad in a black suit, white shirt and a stripped green
necktie which matched his wife Marry’s green attire, commander of the Zimbabwe
Defence Forces (ZDF) General Constantino Chiwenga sat coolly in the front row
facing ministers and senior Zanu PF officials at the just-ended special
congress held in Harare.
Sitting in the same row were some senior members of the
military that included the new Lands minister Air Marshal Perrance Shiri.
Speaker after speaker showered praises upon the general for
the successful “clinical operation” masterminded by the ZDF, codenamed
“Operation Restore Legacy” to rid the country of former president Robert Mugabe
and replacing him with his former deputy, President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Indeed, he was the centre of attraction at the congress,
with delegates going ecstatically wild at each and every mention of his name.
Party supporters and even foreign dignitaries from various ruling parties in
Africa and beyond stampeded to greet the man who did the unthinkable — taking
Mugabe head-on and facilitating his departure from office.
“I would like to salute the commander of the Zimbabwe
Defence Forces Dr Constantino Nyikadzino Guveya Chiwenga and all members of the
Zimbabwe Defence Forces for standing shoulder to shoulder with their fellow
Zimbabweans and putting the peace and stability of Zimbabwe first,” Mnangagwa
said in his main speech, drawing wild cheers from the floor.
But Chiwenga remained collected amid the hero-worshipping
that made him look like the eponymous hero Julius Caesar in one of William
Shakespeare’s greatest works, Julius Caesar when he triumphantly returns to
Rome on the festival of Lupercalia where he eventually meets his death.
Before Mnangagwa’s speech, the delegates had been sent into
ecstasy by Jah Prayzah’s popular hit Kutonga Kwaro which electrified the mood
in the massive white tent. Prominent figures took to the dance floor shaking
their bodies like they had just received tickets to heaven.
War veterans’ leader and special advisor to Mnangagwa,
Christopher Mutsvangwa was all over the show, waving his hands in appreciation
of Jah Prayzah’s lyrics that capture the victory of the Team Lacoste faction
and the death of arch rival, G40, courtesy of Chiwenga.
“Jah Prayzah is the greatest musician in the country. He
has become a household name,” an excited Zanu PF spokesperson Simon Khaya-Moyo
said before ploughing into a “pamberi naMugabe” [forward with Mugabe] gaffe.
Newly-appointed Masvingo Provincial Affairs minister Josiah
Hungwe, who was enjoying the moment of his life, could not be outdone. The tall
minister, not well-gifted in the art of dance, swayed sideways like a tree in
the heart of a hurricane, while Mutsvangwa held him by the hand in a manner
suggesting he was steadying him, in case he fell down.
Tourism minister Prisca Mupfumira was also doing what she
knows best and her joy could be understood. She had just been brought back
after being fired by Mugabe and owed her political life to the army.
ICT minister Supa Mandiwanzira was also among those on the
dance floor while Mnangagwa and Home Affairs minister Obert Mpofu were having
their own moments at the high table.
The excitement among members could be understood — it was
celebration time for a faction that had been outmanoeuvred and obliterated by
Mugabe and his wife, its leader forced into exile, dashing all hopes of a
comeback. It could be understood why the members went into overdrive to lick
the general’s boots.
There seemed to be some sort of competition from provinces
in endorsing the military action and each time that was done, there was
applause, and yet Chiwenga maintained his cool.
Almost everybody appeared overwhelmed with joy while the
likes of former Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi and others decided to remain
reserved in their happiness.
“We would like to thank General Chiwenga and the rest of
the ZDF. He is a true liberator. He liberated us from colonial rule and now
from the capture of Mugabe by the G40 cabal,” Mabel Chinomona, who was
appointed the new women’s league boss, shouted.
Manicaland provincial chair Mike Madiro said the military
operation was a clinical operation.
The general remained seated while members made a beeline to
his seat to pay homage, with the likes of Temba Mliswa kneeling before him for
a chat.
This was the first congress without Mugabe since the
party’s formation in 1963 and the same people who used to worship him were
today, all out against him. But so entrenched was the former president’s name
after 37 years at the helm that Khaya-Moyo and Finance minister Patrick
Chinamasa were soon trapped in the Mugabe gaffe. Standard
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