Mnangagwa is not resigning, Muchinguri warns Chiwenga faction?

Following rumours that a powerful military backed Zanu PF faction is about to takeover power from Mnangagwa, Defence and War Veterans Affairs Minister who is also Zanu-PF chairperson, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri warned that there is no vacancy in the Zimbabwe Presidium.

She made the remarks yesterday while addressing the Manicaland War Veterans inter-district conference at Bezel Bridge in Zimunya-Marange.

Muchinguri-Kashiri is quoted by state media saying the era of the old dispensation which was characterised by divisions, slandering of war veterans, senior Government officials and unbridled ambition for the Presidency, was over.

“For 37 years we were in the old dispensation and you know how it ended. Some elements in the old dispensation had captured the State and we were being insulted and slandered. War veterans were mistreated and abused publicly but we united with our security sectors and embarked on Operation Restore Legacy and in the process restored our dignity that had been stolen,” said Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri.

As if reading from a Grace Mugabe srcipt, Muchinguri said history was repeating itself with some elements angling for the Vice Presidency and the Presidency as if the positions were vacant.

“We still have ambitious individuals that are angling for posts in the Presidium. Be warned. It is not that easy. We should lead by example as war veterans and check the direction that the nation is taking,” said Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri.

Apublication which correctly predicted former president Robert Mugabe’s ouster in a military coup in 2017, has been reporting that “combative Vice President Rtd General Constantino Chiwenga, and a hardline military faction backing his political doctrine and ambitions, are reportedly on the verge of booting President Mnangagwa out of office at any moment now, through another subtle military intervention.”

Mnangagwa’s ouster would be carried out under a military operation code-named “Operation Restore Economy”, the report said, citing “Military Intelligence sources and long-time serving former cabinet ministers.”

After the revelation, Terence Mukupe who previously served as Zimbabwe’s deputy Finance Minister and is one of Mnangagwa’s top political allies, took to Twitter in May this year to warn against the military plot.

“You can’t employ the same strategy twice. Good luck to you daydreamers. We will respond in kind,” Mukupe tweeted, apparently referring to the 2017 coup which ironically catapulted Mnangagwa into power.

Mukupe, in the tweet, attached a short video of Major General Sibusiso Moyo speaking in a Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) broadcast when he announced the army’s intervention on November 15, 2017, in which he said: “The situation in our country has moved to another level.”

Moyo, now Foreign Minister, is one of several leaders being considered as Mnangagwa’s successors, according to the publication.