Three senior ZANU PF District Coordinating Committee (DCC) chairpersons in Masvingo Province are reportedly on the brink of expulsion as an intensifying internal purge widens rifts within the ruling party. The disciplinary crackdown, described by insiders as a strategic assault on officials aligned to Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, is widely interpreted as part of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s broader effort to suppress dissent against the emerging ED2030 agenda—an initiative viewed by critics as a push to retain power beyond the constitutionally mandated two-term limit.
The officials said to be in danger of removal include Zaka DCC chair Clemence Chiduwa, Masvingo District chair Tawanda Dube, and Bikita DCC chair Chamunorwa Taruona. Their potential ouster follows the recent suspension of Chivi DCC chair Samuel Magonde, who was issued with a prohibition order over allegations of indiscipline. While provincial chair Robson Mavhenyengwa confirmed Magonde’s suspension, he dismissed claims that more expulsions were imminent. However, party insiders insist that the purge is far wider than the leadership publicly admits.
According to sources within the party, all four officials recently travelled to ZANU PF Headquarters in Harare to raise complaints over the controversial co-option of central committee members in Chivi and Bikita districts. Their objections reportedly angered the Masvingo provincial leadership, which viewed the move as a direct challenge to established party structures and an attempt to undermine provincial authority. The delegation’s protest, party insiders say, was interpreted as a sign of disloyalty—especially as the officials are believed to be sympathetic to Chiwenga.
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Insiders also claim the crisis was fuelled by internal frustrations related to alleged unfulfilled promises. The four officials reportedly believed they would gain access to vehicles distributed to some central committee members through politically connected businessmen Kudakwashe Tagwirei and Paul Tungwarara. When the vehicles failed to materialise, tensions between the officials and the provincial leadership escalated dramatically, contributing to the current disciplinary fallout.
The Masvingo turmoil is unfolding against a backdrop of an intensifying national power struggle between Mnangagwa’s loyalists and Chiwenga’s faction. Since 2021, Mnangagwa’s allies have steadily tightened control over key structures of the party—provincial executives, youth and women’s leagues, as well as central committee placements—effectively limiting Chiwenga’s influence. The internal manoeuvres have been interpreted by many as a deliberate strategy to block Chiwenga’s expected rise to the presidency, which his supporters argue was agreed upon during the 2017 military-assisted transition that brought Mnangagwa to power.
Masvingo has long been regarded as a critical battleground in this succession contest. The province is home to influential military-linked figures historically associated with Chiwenga’s camp, making it a strategic centre for any factional mobilisation. The ongoing purge of DCC officials is therefore seen not merely as routine disciplinary action but as a carefully calculated effort to dismantle the Vice President’s grassroots networks ahead of the decisive 2027 ZANU PF elective congress, where leadership shifts could shape the party’s political future.
Speaking during a Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) meeting held at Masvingo Polytechnic on October 31, provincial chair Mavhenyengwa acknowledged growing cracks within the party. His remarks provided rare public confirmation of the worsening factional tensions.
“Previously, I had seen as if the party was united, but now some divisions and groupings are emerging,” he said. Mavhenyengwa warned that since no internal elections were imminent, any form of factional mobilisation was both “unnecessary and dangerous.”
He emphasised unity and noted his improved relationship with Provincial Affairs Minister Ezra Chadzamira, who had previously contested the provincial chairmanship against him. Mavhenyengwa used the example to urge leaders to move beyond personal rivalries and prioritise collective party interests.
He also issued a stern warning to DCC leaders he believes are aligning themselves with particular factions rather than the broader party:
“The DCC chairperson is for everyone, not individuals. Some are now saying, ‘I am aligned to so and so.’ That must stop.”
Despite these calls for unity, the disciplinary actions unfolding in Masvingo have only amplified perceptions of a deepening internal conflict. Many within the party view the targeting of DCC leaders as a thinly veiled attempt by Mnangagwa’s backers to neutralise Chiwenga’s support base ahead of future leadership contests.
With the ED2030 campaign quietly gathering momentum among Mnangagwa loyalists, the Masvingo purges have become a symbol of a broader succession war that is intensifying across ZANU PF structures nationwide. For Chiwenga’s supporters, the latest developments represent yet another attempt to sideline the Vice President and derail his long-anticipated path to the presidency.
As the situation continues to escalate, Masvingo now stands as a stark reflection of the fractures within ZANU PF—fractures that point to a party grappling with unresolved succession tensions, shifting loyalties, and a looming power struggle that could shape Zimbabwe’s political trajectory for years to come.
Source- ZimEye
