ZIMBABWE’S POWER STRUGGLES: THE PEOPLE ALWAYS SUFFER WHILE THE ELITE FIGHT FOR THRONES

Another storm is brewing inside ZANU PF, and as always, it is the people of Zimbabwe who will pay the price. Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, the same man who led the 2017 coup that removed Robert Mugabe, is now accusing his old rival, Jonathan Moyo, of treason. He claims Moyo wrote a secret document meant to change the country’s political system and postpone the 2028 elections to 2035. This accusation comes just before ZANU PF’s annual conference in Mutare, and it has already sent shockwaves through the country’s fragile politics.

This latest fight between Chiwenga and President Emmerson Mnangagwa is more than just personal rivalry. It is about power. It is about who gets to sit on the throne while ordinary citizens continue to live in poverty, without jobs, without electricity, and without hope. The people are tired, but the politicians keep playing games with their future.

Chiwenga says the so-called “Breaking Barriers Initiative,” written by Jonathan Moyo, was a plot to delay elections and keep the same system of corruption and control going until 2035. He says the project is being secretly funded by wealthy businessmen like Kudakwashe Tagwirei, Wicknell Chivhayo, Scott Sakupwanya, and Delish Nguwaya — names that Zimbabweans know all too well for their lavish lifestyles while the nation crumbles. These are the faces of state capture, the ones who have turned politics into a business empire built on public suffering.

What makes this situation more painful is the hypocrisy of it all. The same Chiwenga who now shouts “treason” once led tanks into the streets to remove Mugabe. The same man who claimed to be saving the country is now part of a government accused of looting, silencing dissent, and extending its rule beyond the limits of the constitution. Mnangagwa himself, who once promised democracy and reform, now watches his allies push for him to stay in power beyond his two constitutional terms.

The fight between these two powerful men is not about justice or reform. It is about greed. It is about who controls Zimbabwe’s resources and who gets to decide the country’s future without the people’s voice. Each time ZANU PF fights within itself, the result is the same: the economy suffers, more people flee the country, and families are torn apart by hunger and migration. South Africa is already overwhelmed by millions of Zimbabweans searching for work, while our leaders continue their endless battles for power.

History is repeating itself. ZANU PF has never known peace within its ranks. From the days when Robert Mugabe took over from Ndabaningi Sithole in the 1970s, the party has been soaked in betrayal and greed. The 2017 coup was supposed to mark a new beginning, but it only gave us new rulers with old habits. Now, those who once marched together are ready to destroy each other, dragging the whole country down with them.

The truth is simple: Zimbabwe will never know peace or prosperity under ZANU PF. The people’s dreams have been buried under decades of corruption and power games. No one in that party is fighting for ordinary citizens — they are fighting for control of the state’s wealth.

As the ZANU PF conference begins in Mutare, the message from the people must be clear: we are tired. We are tired of broken promises, tired of hunger, tired of lies. No secret document or coup or conference can decide our future without us. The power belongs to the people, not to a handful of men clinging to their thrones.

Zimbabwe needs change — real change. And it will not come from ZANU PF’s internal wars. It will come when the people stand together, speak with one voice, and demand the country they deserve. The struggle continues, but so does our hope that one day, truth and justice will win over greed and fear.