AS the Zanu PF annual conference kicks off this week, the ruling party is urging discipline within its rank-and-file amid social media claims alleging plans to heckle Vice President Constantino Chiwenga during the event, as the succession debate intensifies.
Chiwenga is widely regarded as the frontrunner to succeed President Emmerson Mnangagwa in 2028 when his second term expires. However, his path to the presidency--while seemingly straightforward--is reportedly being obstructed by Mnangagwa's loyalists, who are pushing for an extension of the President's tenure to 2030.
Among these loyalists is a group of controversial business figures, including convicted businessman Wicknell Chivayo, Paul Tungwarara, and Kudakwashe Tagwirei, who have publicly and repeatedly pledged to support Mnangagwa's continued leadership beyond 2028.
In recent days, social media has been awash with claims that Zanu PF youths are being bussed to Mutare, Manicaland province, for the sole purpose of booing Chiwenga--a development seen as a sign that the succession battle is escalating.
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Zanu PF Director of Communication, Farai Marapira, dismissed the allegations, insisting that the party's conference would not be used to heckle senior leaders, as attendance is restricted to vetted delegates.
"We are not going to a rally. We are going to a conference. This is not a free for all. This is a meeting of delegates. This is a meeting of leadership. There is no time to heckle. This is just once again social media trying its best to push agendas on us as Zanu PF. But of course it will fail," he said.
Marapira further stated that those promoting claims of planned disruption were ignorant of the party's internal procedures.
"This issue of being bussed to boo, how are they going to enter when they are not accredited? We are not accrediting crowds, we are accrediting delegates. This is mischief being created by people who are ignorant of the ways of the party and how it conducts its conferences," Marapira said.
The alleged plans to heckle Chiwenga come against the backdrop of his sustained stance against corruption, which he has consistently described as a threat to national security. Chiwenga has publicly condemned prominent businessmen--among them Chivayo, Tungwarara, Tagwirei, and Delish Nguwaya--though without naming them directly, referring instead to the group as "Zvigananda" a deragatory term for plunderers.
Last month, Chiwenga reportedly presented a detailed corruption dossier during a Zanu PF Politburo meeting, implicating Nguwaya, Chivayo, Tagwirei, and Tungwarara. Analysts claim the dossier was so damaging that President Mnangagwa had to abandon his planned trip to the United States, where he was scheduled to lead Zimbabwe's campaign for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
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