(ZNA), General Constantine Chiwenga Backs Mnangagwa Faction As Opposed To Grace’s Camp In President Mugabe Succession War

The succession wars in Zanu PF have gone up a notch, as it is now reported that the commander of the Zimbabwe National Army, (ZNA), General Constantine Chiwenga has now shown his hand by rallying behind  Vice President  Emmerson Mnangagwa, as the man to  succeed the despot, 92 year old President Robert Mugabe in office.

Zanu PF has of late been constantly bedevilled by factional wars amongst  Zanu-PF officials over whether the VP Emmerson Mnangagwa camp or  the Grace Mugabe led camp should succeed the 36 year autocratic ruler , Robert Mugabe as leader of Zanu PF and President Of Zimbabwe.

This kept  Chiwenga  General Constantine Chiwenga in an indecisive state over which side to back between the two Zanu PF factions which have caused a lot of infighting, tradding of insults, accusations, threats, open  hatred and at times violence between them.

Chiwengas support  for VP Emmerson Mnangagwa camp, is inherently a suicidal move as the despot centenarian Zanu PF leader Robert Mugabe, can easily pull the carpet from under his feet by simply exercising his power to  extend his tenure or terminate his contract.

The problem is that, backing the Mnangagwa faction, which is obviously challenging the Grace Mugabe led faction , is as good as choosing not to support President Robert Mugabe, the husband to the First lady Grace Mugabe.

Mugabe’s support for his wife’s bid and camp is seen in the amount of state resources originally designed to be distributed to all people of Zimbabwe on anon partisan basis, are now being diverted by Grace Mugabe to boost  her image and influence through nationwide campaigns  at Zanu PF rallies.

Mugabe has actually taken a back seat by not attending some of Grace Mugabe’s rallies, thereby allowing her to showcase her power. She has had the use of helicopter convoys with two helicopters, whilst vice presidents have been forced to drive to rallies along with supporters, Zanu PF stalwarts, cabinet officials to the rallies where Grace distributes freebies and farming implements, a well known vote buying scheme.

While no one can typically say she will succeed Mugabe, it so obvious that she is receiving greater support towards such a bid by her husband than any other potential candidate, including constant national coverage by  ZBC TV and state controlled media such as Herald, Sunday Mail, Chronicle and Sunday News papers, a privilege which opposition and other Zanu Pf officials do not share.

Having recently  murdered Solomon Mujuru, his  war time commander and former Zimbabwe Army general, also the former husband to disgraced and fired ex Zimbabwe’s vice president Joice Mujuru, Mugabe will be caustious not to rock the boat by upsetting the military balance of power.

General Constantine Chiwenga, is a war veteran, and because of having worked closely with Mujuru whilst she was in office and with Mugabe all the way from war, would obviously never want to be subjected to saluting First lady Grace Mugabe, who holds no war time credentials.

In any event he would rathertake over as a military ruler and  calm the situation if Mugabe suddenly died, then facilitate the transfer of power from the military to a chosen candidate who would protect Mugabe’s legacy, which includes corruptly acquired, farms, mines, and  companies, shared by the Zim1 family, Zanu PF stalwarts, and securocrats.  by Sibusiso Ngwenya