Harare – Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party is once again embroiled in fierce succession battles, with heavyweights flexing their muscles in a bid to position themselves for the top job when President Emmerson Mnangagwa eventually steps down. Plots to sideline perceived newcomers through legal means and political manoeuvring are intensifying, exposing deep divisions within the party.
The war to succeed the 82-year-old Mnangagwa has spilled into the public arena, particularly after recent politburo, central committee, and women’s league meetings. The scramble for power is becoming increasingly ugly, threatening to destabilise the party and potentially the nation.
On Friday, it emerged that Zanu-PF legal secretary Patrick Chinamasa was compelled to retract a memo sent to the ruling party’s provincial officials on 5 June. This memo, had it stood, could have disqualified Tagwirei from becoming a central committee member, thus hindering his path to contest for senior leadership positions within the party. Chinamasa’s intervention has been interpreted as a deliberate move to clear the way for Tagwirei’s ambitions.
Zanu-PF’s ongoing cell verification exercise is also exposing deep-seated factionalism within the party. Members are actively seeking to position themselves through the district coordinating committees (DCCs) or by-passing the structure, ahead of the provincial elections later this year and the 2027 elective congress. This scramble highlights the importance of these structures in the succession dynamics.
The DCCs wield significant influence over who is elected into the provincial coordinating committees, the central committee, the national constitutive assembly, and the politburo – the party’s supreme decision-making body. This influence makes them key battlegrounds in the fight for control.
DCC members are eligible to attend the party’s congress as delegates with voting rights, further solidifying their importance in the succession dynamics of the party. The DCC consists of elected members from the cells and branches, representing the main wing, women’s league, and the youth league, making it a microcosm of the party itself.
In the past, fierce power struggles among Zanu-PF leaders have led to repeated dissolutions of DCCs, underscoring their volatility and the intensity of the competition for control.
The controversial memo, initially issued by Zanu-PF’s Mike Mpofu, warned provincial executives that any recommendations and co-option into powerful positions, including the central committee, would attract sanctions if established procedures were not followed.
“To be eligible for selection or election to the central committee, an individual must meet both the following criteria,” Mpofu stated in the memo, before Chinamasa’s intervention reversed it. The memo stipulated that: “The individual must be a fully subscribed member of Zanu-PF in good standing,” and “Proven provincial or higher office: The individual must have held office in the province or a higher party organ for a continuous period of not less than five years immediately preceding consideration. No person lacking either requirement shall be nominated or considered.”
Zanu-PF’s Harare province recently recommended the co-option of Tagwirei into the central committee, but the move was put on hold after the province was ordered to adhere to the laid-down procedures. Mpofu emphasised that there were clear procedures for co-option into top positions.
He instructed the provincial leadership to enforce the five-year service requirement without exception. “Monitor DCC adherence to the co-option procedure and statutory time limits,” he said. “Submit certified minutes of all vacancy filling meetings and subsequent endorsements to the office of the secretary general within seven days of each stage. Non-compliance will invalidate the nomination and may attract disciplinary measures.”
Zanu-PF director of information, Farai Marapira, attempted to downplay the significance of Mpofu’s directive, claiming it was not targeted at any specific individual. “The party does not address issues of advancement individually; the rules are universal,” Marapira told The Standard. “It is also important to advise that Cde Tagwirei is one of many who have been advanced for membership of our party’s central committee. Therefore, for one to say any decision thereof earmarks a single person is the work of mischievous minds.”
Mnangagwa’s term of office is constitutionally expected to conclude in 2028. The president has publicly stated that he has no intention of extending his term, despite calls from some party loyalists to remain in power until 2030.
Observers warn of a potential repeat of history if Mnangagwa fails to manage his succession effectively, drawing parallels to the tumultuous end of Robert Mugabe’s reign. Mugabe was ousted in 2017 following a military intervention after a faction loyal to his then-deputy accused him of being surrounded by criminals and allowing his wife, Grace Mugabe, to usurp his powers.
The unfolding succession drama within Zanu-PF raises concerns about the stability of Zimbabwe and the potential for further political turmoil.
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