The conference is taking place amid deepening internal divisions and mounting public suspicion over President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s alleged plans to extend his stay in power beyond 2028.
Political Analyst and former Journalist Jealousy Mawarire says the gathering is “no longer just important to ZANU-PF, but to all peace-loving Zimbabweans,” warning that it could be used to “mutilate the constitution” to allow Mnangagwa to rule until 2035.
The controversy centres on the so-called ED2030 campaign, a push reportedly backed by senior party officials and linked to a proposed parliamentary motion known as the Breaking of Barriers Initiative.
Mawarire alleges that the initiative is being advanced through a South African (SA)-registered consultancy and supported by inducements such as vehicles and electronic devices to secure political loyalty.
He criticised the President for presiding over “a party that is trying to undermine the very constitution he was sworn in to uphold,” accusing him of “setting in motion processes to ensure he stays in power until 2035.”
Tensions between Mnangagwa and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga have intensified, particularly over allegations of corruption. Mawarire cite $120 million money-laundering case involving Businessman Wicknell Chivayo, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and a SA company, Rainform.
He said Justice Minister Ziambi Ziambi’s public defence of those implicated demonstrated “the worst form of state capture,” arguing that “if even the Vice President is attacked for exposing corruption, what chance does an ordinary whistle-blower have?”
Mawarire added that the current infighting recalls the internal battles that preceded the 2017 ousting of Robert Mugabe, saying that “the divisions within the Praesidium are now playing out in public again.”
–ChannelAfrica–
