HARARE – The embattled President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s business and political allies held a crisis meeting on Tuesday where they resolved to petition the President to reappoint Owen “Mudha” Ncube as State Security Minister to deal with Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga.
The crisis meeting, held at controversial businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei’s offices in Newlands, came a week after Chiwenga ordered Mnangagwa to arrest Zviganandas in a charged political meeting.
Chiwenga is alleged to have implicated Mnangagwa in a document presented in the Politburo in corrupt deals involving the shareholding of Sakunda, a company where Tagwirei owns 55% while Zanu PF has a 45% stake.
However, Zanu PF has not been receiving its dividends since November 2017 when Mnangagwa took over in a coup against his longtime boss, the late former President Robert Mugabe, prejudicing the country of about US$3.2 billion.
Chiwenga’s confrontation with Mnangagwa has since triggered speculation that he would stage a coup, a development that has sent the President’s “corrupt cabal” into panic.
The Vice-President, who played a huge part in Mnangagwa’s rise to power after he had fled arrest by Mugabe, has been threatening to deal with corrupt elements.
But a week after Chiwenga’s shock exposé, Tagwirei and his allies, accused of corruption, met and resolved to pressure Mnangagwa to reappoint Mudha as State Security Minister in sweeping changes to the cabinet to deal with the Chiwenga threat.
The reshuffle will see the targeting and purge of Ministers Tino Machakaire, Anselem Sanyatwe, and July Moyo, seen as loyal to Chiwenga, according to sources close to those who attended the meeting.
Mudha, the Midlands Provincial Minister notorious for cruelty against political rivals, was unceremoniously fired as State Security Minister by Mnangagwa before he bounced back as Provincial Minister in 2023.
His task will be to eliminate Chiwenga, according to the source.
Zimbabwe’s political crisis has escalated into a naked struggle for survival, with Tagwirei, the sanctioned billionaire, and his allies trying to position themselves for Zanu PF and government posts as they angle to take over from Mnangagwa, whose age and health seem to be taking a toll on him.
“The faction is now demanding President Emmerson Mnangagwa appoint a brutal enforcer to neutralise Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga,” the source revealed.
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“Faced with VP Chiwenga’s direct demand for their arrest over the grand theft of government funds, Tagwirei’s circle is no longer seeking a mere political reshuffle. They are orchestrating a tactical purge to install a security apparatus willing to take extreme measures against their primary enemy.”
The faction’s reasoning, according to a source present, was straightforward: “Matuke is weak and useless. We need a man with guts to eliminate certain targets.”
Lovemore Matuke is the current State Security Minister.
Mudha is a feared figure from Mnangagwa’s past, widely known as a ruthless enforcer.
“The proposed cabinet reshuffle is a precise blueprint for consolidating a criminal enterprise within the state,” the source said.
Moyo, the current Minister of Energy, is targeted for allegedly blocking Tagwirei’s attempts to fully monopolise and loot funds from the Beira-Feruka Pipeline.
His perceived sympathy for Chiwenga makes him a dual threat.
Machakaire, the Minister of Youth, is accused of failing to rally youth support for Mnangagwa and, more seriously, of actively solidifying VP Chiwenga’s support base.
The faction has also fallen out with him over competing business interests.
Sanyatwe, who is Minister of Sports, is being targeted for his refusal to betray Chiwenga, his long-time ally.
They are recommending Tagwirei to replace Moyo, Themba Mliswa to replace Sanyatwe, and Temptor Tungwarara or John Paradza to replace Machakaire.
They also want Christopher Mutsvangwa to replace Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri as Zanu PF Chairperson, adding to the changes already announced last week where Obert Mpofu was demoted from Secretary-General to Secretary for ICT in a move seen as clipping Chiwenga’s influence in the Politburo.
Chiwenga is being singled out for attack over his principled stand against corruption.
Source – Byo24News
