Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa targets tycoon Kudakwashe Tagwirei and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga as he rekindles presidential ambitions, writes former Zanu PF provincial chairman and ex-independent Norton MP Temba Mliswa.
Mutsvangwa harbours ambitions of being Zanu PF leader and sees both Chiwenga and Tagwirei as stumbling blocks to the realisation of that dream.
The spirited press conferences against Tagwirei are an opportune moment for him to decimate the figure of one of his supposed opponents.
Unfortunately the party, in a seemingly naive move, is indulging his whims.
In February in an interview with DugUp he launched an attack on Chiwenga, labelling him cruel, illiterate and an electoral liability.
That he is now onto Tagwirei isn’t coincidence but a calculated move in a bigger agenda towards what he has always aspired for, Zanu PF and ultimately national leadership. It is just illusionary that he appears to have a case because he doesn’t.
It is Zanu PF law that even a party member who does not meet the standard eligibility requirements e.g not having served five years at provincial/DCC level, can still apply for a Central Committee seat, or be nominated by a provincual structure.
All the Politburo does is assess strategic value of the candidate, political loyalty and contribution to the party.
Then it grants a waiver, which is a formal exception to the standard qualifications. No one can argue against Tagwirei as lacking any of the above values for Zanu PF!
In 2022, the politburo granted waivers to Mthuli Ncube, Sekai Nzenza, and Obadiah Moyo based on their national-level service and profiles, despite not having provincial or DCC experience.
Tagwirei has literally funded the party and even Mutsvangwa drives a vehicle from him! It is thus merely convenient lies for Mutsvangwa to cite the party law book as the hindrance against Tagwirei. It’s not!
The hindrance is his own ambitions which he feels Chiwenga and Tagwirei are endangering and he has to act to scupper them in whichever way!
I have known Mutsvangwa since my tenure as Zanu PF chairman of Mashonaland West. I co-opted him into the party structures for his first position!
His actual ascent to prominence was facilitated by a dubious amalgamation of co-options, bribed adversaries and strategic party impositions.
Mutsvangwa represents the electoral liability than Chiwenga whom he accused of the same.
It is inherently paradoxical for the party to permit him to articulate its stance on such matters, as he promotes a narrative that is detached from the party’s actual realities.
He has positioned himself as a pivotal actor in the ostensibly orchestrated campaign against Tagwirei, driven primarily by clear ambitions for higher office.
Thus, his fervent press conferences, brandishing the rule book, are anything but exemplary. Rather, they are propelled by motivations that extend well beyond mere loyalty to the party’s principles.
Mutsvangwa is known for orchestrating political machinations rooted in falsehoods, as demonstrated in his dealings with Mai Joice Mujuru.
The late former president Robert Mugabe died with regret for being misled by figures like Mutsvangwa, who instigated the expulsion of Mai Mujuru under the false pretense that she sought to usurp power.
Such underhanded tactics are emblematic of Mutsvangwa’s political modus operandi. He exhibited the same when Jabulani Sibanda, then War Vets leader, was ousted for raising legitimate concerns within the party.
Mutsvangwa seized the opportunity to ascend as the leader of the War Veterans in 2014.
In terms of substantive political credentials, Mutsvangwa is notably deficient, often resurfacing only at crucial junctures to claim accolades for outcomes achieved by others. This pattern was evident during the 2017 campaign for Restore Legacy.
While some of us diligently worked to build support both in Parliament and across various international platforms, he retreated from visibility.
This is well-documented. When the situation became untenable, he abandoned his fellow War Veterans, who faced harassment.
In his absence; remarkably, fellow War Veterans, the likes of Victor Matemadanda and Douglas Mahiya exhibited greater resilience to push through the campaign.
He resurfaced when it was calmer. Thus while his current campaign against Tagwirei may appear clothed with legal neatness, protecting the party as he purports, it is just another gross furtherance of his own political ambitions which he sees under threat from Tagwirei and Chiwenga.
It would be the height of irony and perhaps a bit of injustice for the party to bask in the glow of Tagwirei’s generosity, as the likes of Mutsvangwa have been doing, while simultaneously blocking him from inclusion in the party’s hierarchy.
The clever move would be for the party to own companies like ANC has done and cut down on individual financing. After all, they have set the stage for him to cash in, which is their job, so they cannot very well hold that against him.
