{"id":422068,"date":"2011-06-10T13:32:15","date_gmt":"2011-06-10T13:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/06\/10\/zanu-pf-mat-bigwigs-jostle-to-succeed-mugabe\/"},"modified":"2011-06-10T13:32:15","modified_gmt":"2011-06-10T13:32:15","slug":"zanu-pf-mat-bigwigs-jostle-to-succeed-mugabe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/06\/10\/zanu-pf-mat-bigwigs-jostle-to-succeed-mugabe\/","title":{"rendered":"Zanu PF Mat Bigwigs Jostle to Succeed Mugabe"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Zimbabwe<\/a><\/p>\n

Brian Chitemba<\/p>\n

9 June 2011<\/p>\n

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WHILE Vice-President Joice Mujuru, Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and military chief Constantine Chiwenga jostle to succeed President Robert Mugabe, Matabeleland has also been engulfed by a fierce power struggle pitting political heavyweights seeking to strategically position themselves for a post-Mugabe era.<\/p>\n

The battle is particularly fierce between Vice-President John Nkomo, Zanu PF national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo and Mines minister Obert Mpofu, who are all keen to control the province by trying to resuscitate the former liberation movement which has repeatedly lost the Matabeleland vote since the 2000 elections.<\/p>\n

The rise of the MDC as a formidable opposition to Zanu PF saw the former ruling party overwhelmingly lose support in the region. Even the acrimonious split in the MDC in 2005 following irreconcilable differences between party leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his erstwhile secretary-general Welshman Ncube provided no respite for Zanu PF. The Matabeleland vote was simply split between the two MDC formations.<\/p>\n

Nkomo first lost his Bulawayo North parliamentary seat in 2000 and then quit participating in polls when he became Zanu PF national chairman on the grounds that his party position was an important national position.<\/p>\n

Khaya Moyo lost the Bulilimamangwe seat in the 2000 elections and was rescued by being posted as the country’s high commissioner to neighbouring South Africa.<\/p>\n

From that point on, both Nkomo and Khaya Moyo have remained on the national political landscape only as Mugabe’s appointees.<\/p>\n

This means that for the past 11 years Nkomo and Khaya Moyo’s constituency is Mugabe. With Mugabe’s advanced age and failing health increasing swelling calls for him to step down, there is trepidation among all his appointees since they face a bleak future with a new person at the reins.<\/p>\n

As Mugabe fast approaches the twilight of his political career, Matabeleland political bigwigs all want to hold sway in the region so as to fit into the national equation when a new leader takes over from Mugabe and plays the all too familiar tribal balancing act.<\/p>\n

And Mpofu seems to have the upper hand at present as he enjoys the support of influential politburo members Jonathan Moyo and Jacob Mudenda, central committee members Fati Mpofu, Melly Nkomo, Rebecca Fameli and Josephine Moyo.<\/p>\n

Mpofu is already playing a crucial role in shaping the political future of the region and successfully orchestrated the removal of Matabeleland North provincial chairman Senzo Ncube and had him replaced by his close ally Zwelitsha Masuku last year. Bulawayo chairman Isaac Dakamela is also an ally of Mpofu.<\/p>\n

Nkomo and Khaya Moyo have the backing of spent forces such as Sikhanyiso Ndlovu, Small and Medium Enterprsies minister Sithembiso Nyoni, Matabeleland North governor Sithokozile Mathuthu and her Matabeleland South counterpart Angeline Masuku, as well as Bulawayo Metropolitan governor Cain Mathema. These all happen to be also recipients of Mugabe’s patronage.<\/p>\n

The continued protection of the two presidium members has bred disgruntlement in Matabeleland as some party officials argue that Nkomo had Khaya Moyo are practically divorced from the grassroots.<\/p>\n

In the run-up to elections to choose a successor to the late Joseph Msika in 2009, Mpofu pointed out that Nkomo was not a suitable candidate because he was struggling to lure the electorate. Mpofu further boasted that he was one of a rare breed of Zanu PF gurus who were able to contest in the heart of Matabeleland where calls for regime change were rampant and win.<\/p>\n

Mpofu is the MP for Umguza, about 40 km northwest of Bulawayo.<\/p>\n

It is this voter disparity between Nkomo and Mpofu that is fuelling a fierce but muffled succession debate cascading from the Mujuru and Mnangagwa camps. Mpofu is linked to Mnangagwa while Nkomo is closer to Mujuru.<\/p>\n

He pitches himself as the president’s “ever obedient son”.<\/p>\n

This perhaps explains why Nkomo has shown an interest in contesting for his home constituency seat of Tsholotsho and has been donating significantly to schools and communities in the district.<\/p>\n

He needs a constituency to lean on to secure political relevance in a post-Mugabe era. Nkomo and Khaya Moyo have lately been holding meetings lobbying for developmental programmes in Matabeleland in an effort to appease a region which has constantly complained of marginalisation.<\/p>\n

Political analyst Kucaca Phulu said it was critical for politicians like Nkomo and Khaya Moyo to remain relevant to the electorate for them to sustain their political jobs.<\/p>\n

Some Zanu PF insiders say Nkomo and Khaya Moyo have been seriously stung by Mpofu’s growing influence. Mpofu’s profile grew in the region when he bailed out Highlanders Football Club from a US$21 000 debt, which was threatening to tear the club apart. Highlanders is emotionally supported in this region and anyone who positively associates themselves with the country’s oldest soccer club automatically finds favour in Matabeleland.<\/p>\n

Ever since Mpofu assumed the Mines ministry, his influence has grown at unprecedented levels and he is said to have easier access to Mugabe and the securocrats than Nkomo and Khaya Moyo. Just two months ago, security chiefs rejected summons by Nkomo to appear before the Organ on National Healing.<\/p>\n

Phulu said the Zanu PF heavyweights had realised that assisting in critical community projects bolstered their battered images much better than violence.<\/p>\n

“MDC-T and MDC have won previous elections in Matabeleland and it’s an uphill task for Zanu PF gurus to penetrate. They have to do more to lure voters,” said Phulu.<\/p>\n

In a bid to bestow more power on Khaya Moyo, Mugabe and his cabal tried in vain to replace House of Assembly Speaker Lovemore Moyo, who had been technically dethroned by a Supreme Court judgement.<\/p>\n

Khaya Moyo’s failure to land the speakership made him lose more clout in Matabeleland where his ascendency to the Zanu PF chairmanship was bitterly opposed.<\/p>\n

Bulawayo-based analyst Chamu Mutasa said: “There is serious disgruntlement in Matabeleland because those at the top do not have the mandate of the masses. Nkomo and Khaya Moyo are basically serving at the pleasure of Mugabe unlike other veteran politicians like Mpofu, Mujuru and Mnangagwa.”<\/p>\n

But Mutasa also warned that if Nkomo and Khaya Moyo contested in the forthcoming elections and lose, then they risked fading into political oblivion.<\/p>\n

“Their (Moyo and Nkomo) future after Mugabe is uncertain because those who will come into power may not accommodate them, so they better get constituencies. The issue of former PF-Zapu seniority will also die in the near future and this may mean the officials will be challenging each other in an open race, therefore political relevance is important,” Mutasa said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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\nZanu PF Mat Bigwigs Jostle to Succeed Mugabe<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Brian Chitemba 9 June 2011 WHILE Vice-President Joice Mujuru, Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and military chief Constantine Chiwenga jostle to succeed President Robert Mugabe, Matabeleland has also been engulfed by a fierce power struggle pitting political heavyweights seeking to strategically position themselves for a post-Mugabe era. The battle is particularly fierce between Vice-President John Nkomo, Zanu PF national chairman Simon Khaya Moyo and Mines minister Obert Mpofu, who are all keen to control the province by trying to resuscitate the former liberation movement which has repeatedly lost the Matabeleland vote since the 2000 elections. The rise of the MDC as a formidable opposition to Zanu PF saw the former ruling party overwhelmingly lose support in the region. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":421819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-422068","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\nZanu PF Mat Bigwigs Jostle to Succeed Mugabe - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/06\/10\/zanu-pf-mat-bigwigs-jostle-to-succeed-mugabe\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Zanu PF Mat Bigwigs Jostle to Succeed Mugabe - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Brian Chitemba 9 June 2011 WHILE Vice-President Joice Mujuru, Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and military chief Constantine Chiwenga jostle to succeed President Robert Mugabe, Matabeleland has also been engulfed by a fierce power struggle pitting political heavyweights seeking to strategically position themselves for a post-Mugabe era. 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