A power struggle that has been simmering for months between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ambitious deputy, retired General Constantino Chiwenga, has intensified over the past two weeks, with factions said to belong to them fighting bitterly over control of re-introduced District Coordinating Committees (DCCs).
Mnangagwa and the former Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander are fighting for the heart and soul of Zanu PF and control of the levers of state power.
The differences between the two emerged after the November 2017 coup over several issues, such as type of transitional arrangement, key appointments, including cabinet posts and Mnangagwa’s tenure.
The party resolved to re-introduce the DCCs in its structures last year, claiming they were the missing link in the coordination of its programmes.
DCCs were disbanded in 2012 after they became the centre of terminal factional fights among bigwigs. The party felt DCCs were, during that time, being used to foment divisions and fan factionalism between camps led by Mnangagwa and then vice-president Joice Mujuru. Mujuru and Mnangagwa were angling to succeed the late former president Mugabe. According to the Zanu PF constitution, there are 60 rural DCCs and 29 in urban areas that must be constituted.
When fully constituted, the DCCs form part of Zanu PF’s congress — the supreme decision-making body mandated to elect the party president. Accordingly, whoever controls DCCs has greater potential of sustaining power in Zanu PF.
Party insiders told the Zimbabwe Independent in off-the-record briefings this week that vicious campaigning is currently underway in all 10 provinces ahead of the DCC elections set to be conducted over the next two months. The campaign is reportedly being held on factional lines, as bigwigs line up proxies for influential positions amid intense skulking and skulduggery.
“There is commotion all over the country. People are burning the midnight oil plotting. The elections themselves are promising fireworks,” a Zanu PF politburo member said.
“There are widespread allegations of vote-buying and imposition of candidates by senior officials who want to assert control of the lower structures and it’s getting messy.”
According to party insiders, the factional fights are more intense in the three Mashonaland provinces.
Party officials in Mashonaland East, particularly in Chiwenga’s home district of Wedza, alleged that the Vice-President was involved in the selection of candidates. They also alleged that he was working with former deputy minister of transport Michael Madanha — now Zimbabwe National Roads Administration (Zinara) board chairperson.
Allegations of vote-buying have also been levelled against Madanha, formerly Wedza South legislator. He is being accused of distributing food hampers, cellphones and cash to party members.
Madanha, who is the current provincial deputy chair, is said to have ambitions of becoming the next provincial chairperson, a position currently held by Joel Biggie Matiza.
“It was virtually early Christmas in Wedza. Soon after the PCC (provincial coordinating committee) held a meeting in Marondera to announce the return of the DCCs, Madanha dispatched, through his driver known as Mutete, products which we were told were donations from VP Chiwenga. Around 20 cellphones were handed out over the last two weeks, which they said were meant to help improve communication when the need arises,” a source from the province said.
