THE veneer of unity within Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu PF party is increasingly strained, as a rising class of politically-connected business figures openly jostles for influence, exposing deepening fault lines over succession.
The growing friction comes as President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s second and final constitutional term enters its twilight, intensifying manoeuvres among elites seeking to shape the post-Mnangagwa order.
Prominent businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei, who was co-opted into the Zanu PF central committee last year, has emerged at the centre of mounting speculation over succession politics.
Tagwirei has consistently supported the 2030 President’s term extension for Mnangagwa to see through various developmental projects. The draft bill to give legal effect to the President’s term extension will soon be tabled in Cabinet and Parliament, according to the Attorney-General Virginia Mabhiza.
Presidential adviser Paul Tungwarara recently delivered a blistering address to supporters in Marange, warning against attempts to “buy” the presidency, without naming any individuals.
Political analyst Tendai Reuben Mbofana said the increasingly public exchanges should not be dismissed as rhetorical posturing, but rather as evidence of a destabilising struggle within the ruling party’s elite.
“The escalating public spats within Zanu PF should not be dismissed as mere rhetorical bravado or isolated factional quarrels,” he said.
“What we are witnessing is a deepening power struggle among the politically-connected entrepreneurs whose wealth has been accumulated through proximity to State power and whose ambitions are now colliding in increasingly open ways.”
- NoViolet Bulawayo’s new novel is an instant Zimbabwean classic
- Jah Prayzah, Zanu PF rekindles ‘lost love’
- Bank workers appeal to Ncube for tax relief
- Indosakusa marks 21-year anniversary milestone
Keep Reading
Mbofana said speculation over Tagwirei’s political ascent intensified following his inclusion in the central committee
“Over the past year, there has been persistent speculation that businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei was being quietly groomed by President Mnangagwa as a potential successor,” he said.
“However, recent developments suggest that this apparent ascendancy is now being openly contested from within the same class.
“Paul Tungwarara’s scathing remarks at a Zanu PF gathering in Nyanga where he dismissed the notion that wealth alone could buy one the presidency, were widely interpreted as a thinly veiled attack on Tagwirei.”
Mbofana said the remarks may also reflect Tungwarara’s own leadership ambitions, arguing that the contest mirrors a broader pattern among those with close access to Mnangagwa.
“There is credible speculation that, much like the late Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa may be deliberately encouraging rival ambitions among these elites, quietly whispering to each that they are his preferred successor,” he said.
“Such a strategy would effectively neutralise potential challengers by turning them against one another, weakening them before they can consolidate enough power to pose a direct threat to his authority.
“The real danger is that these internal battles, driven by wealth and proximity to power rather than ideology or public interest, will further destabilise governance and entrench a politics that serves elites while abandoning the nation,” Mbofana added.
Political analyst Ricky Mukonza said the clashes reflected the fragility of Zanu PF’s patronage system amid uncertainty over succession timelines.
“What we are seeing is a result of the uncertainty in the party. Is 2030 going to materialise? If it is not, who is going to take over from ED?” he said.
“These are some of the questions causing the discord we are seeing; these are succession battles in the party.”
Another analyst, Gideon Chitanga, said the weakening of opposition politics had left Zanu PF increasingly consumed by internal battles, often fought using money and access to power.
“Intraparty and intra-factional jostling for positions within Zanu PF exposes many tactics that are used, such as the use of money and access to power,” he said.
“We need to understand why these cliques around senior authority would be at this point escalating their campaigns and jostling for positions.
“Intra-Zanu PF politics are getting to a very delicate stage. It tells you about the divisions and the manoeuvres. I think the death of opposition is increasingly leaving Zanu PF to focus internally and in particular with reference to the succession politics,” Chitanga added.
He warned that the party had entered a volatile phase.
“Some of them are called advisors, but some are just close political figures. The race for the top is dirty, potentially dangerous, unpredictable, and it’s very volatile. What we can only say is this tells you a story of politics getting to a very delicate stage,” Chitanga said.
