Zanu-PF’s succession battle — once confined behind closed doors — is fast turning into a public brawl being fought in the courts, reflecting the former liberation movement’s failure to handle the contentious issue and giving President Robert Mugabe enough reason to hang on to power, analysts said.
Emmerson Mnangagwa, long touted as Mugabe’s natural successor, but who saw his political star wane in 2004, is to sue Zanu-PF national chairperson John Nkomo for defamation arising from the latter’s claims that he funded a failed “smart coup” against Mugabe and his top lieutenants.
The defamation suit could be a gruelling affair between two men with presidential ambitions.
Nkomo last week announced he wanted Mugabe’s job, pitting him against Mnangagwa and Vice-President Joice Mujuru as the leading contenders.
“It is something that is rather unusual but a demonstration that the political combatants are prepared to take the struggle to a higher level,” said Eldred Masunungure, a leading political commentator.
“This complicates the capacity to manage the succession issue. These people are now prepared to fight publicly notwithstanding what the president desires,” added Masunungure.
Nkomo told a Bulawayo High Court that Mnangagwa and another party official Sithembiso Nyoni funded a plot hatched at Tsholotsho in southern rural Zimbabwe to catapult the former speaker to the vice-presidency in rebellion against Mugabe who had openly backed Mujuru for the key post.
Nkomo’s remarks marked the first time a senior ruling party official had publicly named Mnangagwa as the brains behind moves by a group within Zanu-PF to block Mujuru’s ascendancy to the second most powerful state and party post, considered a key stepping stone to the top job.
The vicious power struggle within Zanu-PF and fought between two camps backing Mnangagwa and Mujuru, has largely been raging internally and was for a long time only speculated about by the media, but has now spilled into the public arena.
Analysts said as the camps fought, calls by some people to extend Mugabe’s reign would grow louder, arguing that only the 82-year-old leader could keep the former guerrilla movement from disintegrating.
“I would imagine they are both undermining their positions as frontrunners in the presidential race and dark horses may emerge,” said John Makumbe, a political science lecture at the University of Zimbabwe.
“But more importantly Mugabe may be inclined to cling on to power as a way of safeguarding Zanu-PF from disintegrating because it certainly looks sure to disintegrate,” added Makumbe.
Former information minister Jonathan Moyo, who was fired by Mugabe after uncovering the Tsholotsho plan, is suing Nkomo and Zanu-PF politburo member Dumiso Dabengwa for Z$200-million for allegedly defaming him by falsely claiming he had used the gathering at Tsholotsho to plan a coup against Mugabe and other senior party officials.
“I think we have reached the position where people are prepared to ignore the president, a development which is unprecedented and it will be only interesting to see how Mugabe handles this one,” Masunungure said.
He added: “The other way of looking at it is that people are positioning themselves for a more odious struggle for State House with each wanting to cleanse his character.
“Mnangagwa feels the [Nkomo’s] utterances are meant to soil his reputation by being labelled a coup plotter so his chance of a strong presidential bid is compromised.”
Makumbe concurred, adding that Mugabe could as well mobilise the party grassroots to shun the two, arguing that they were bringing the name of the party into disrepute. Zanu-PF traditionally resolves disputes internally.
“What they are doing undermines their ability and possibility and probability of being considered to be serious contenders,” he said. – ZimOnline