HARARE — President Emmerson Mnangagwa has moved to restrain Zanu PF Harare province’s push for a controversial “2030” resolution, amid fears that the rallies promoting an extension of his tenure were deepening divisions within the ruling party, The Standard has reported.
According to the newspaper, Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa told journalists that Mnangagwa had no intention of staying in office beyond 2028, when his second and final term ends. The assertion contradicted the Harare structures’ public mobilisation for a resolution seeking to keep the President in power until 2030, a development that has triggered internal political tremors.
Mutsvangwa also appeared to soften the message by stating that the 2030 resolution would technically remain on the party’s agenda, a clarification that, The Standard notes, left many observers unsure of the party’s true position.
“We had our resolution number one at the party conference in Bulawayo, which said that President Mnangagwa remains the president of Zimbabwe until 2030 and that resolution was unanimously made by a majority,” he said. “The decision of the president in 2027 will decide where the party will go as we have a congress in 2027. If you declare yourself as a candidate ahead of the party itself, and the party having not announced the availability of a vacancy in the presidency, it is totally wrong.”
A senior politburo member, quoted by The Standard, said Mutsvangwa’s press conference was authorised by Mnangagwa following growing concern that the Harare campaign was being used by certain individuals to position themselves in the succession race. The official claimed the President approved Mutsvangwa’s statements to quell internal manoeuvres.
Although Mutsvangwa did not name names, The Standard reports speculation that businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei, who has played a visible role in the Harare rallies, was a key target of the reprimand. During one of the gatherings, Tagwirei reportedly urged Zanu PF to enforce a party resolution barring foreigners from certain sectors of the economy — remarks Mutsvangwa described as xenophobic and inappropriate.
“Certain things are only said by the president,” Mutsvangwa cautioned. “They are not said by everybody, otherwise everyone who thinks they can be a president can be seen giving policies from his platform.”
He added that individuals harbouring ambitions for higher office “may not be too late… to go back to the Chitepo School of Ideology.”
Tagwirei has long been rumoured to be Mnangagwa’s preferred successor, a claim that has fuelled tensions with Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who some regard as the frontrunner for the party leadership when it is contested in 2027, as required by the Zanu PF constitution.
Chiwenga was recently criticised by Zanu PF’s legal affairs secretary Ziyambi Ziyambi for not endorsing the 2030 agenda. Ziyambi accused him of disloyalty after the Vice President reportedly submitted a dossier detailing the alleged capture of the ruling party by politically connected business figures accused of exploiting their access to power for personal gain.
Mutsvangwa declined to provide further comment to The Standard, citing his attendance at meetings in Mozambique, where Mnangagwa is on a state visit.
According to The Standard, the clashes over Mnangagwa’s tenure have exposed deeper succession battles within Zanu PF, laying bare competing ambitions ahead of the crucial 2027 congress.
