CHIWENGA GUNS FOR POWER
· Mnangagwa’s schemes and threats fail to silence the General who could be Zimbabwe’s next president.
By Peter Bolder
7NN Special Assignment
Vice President General Constantino Chiwenga Chiwenga (Rtd) has been acting presidential of late, drawing the admiration of Zimbabweans tired of ZANU PF bickering putting brakes on business.
Despite the daily taunts he gets from violent Mnangagwa supporters, the former Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander has chosen to ignore them.
Revered for helping remove iron-fisted former president Robert Mugabe, Chiwenga is building a strong constituency of progressive Zimbabweans that cuts across political party lines. He’s now a popular speaker at gatherings, from funerals and business meetings to diplomatic mission dinners and international conferences.
RELIGION
Some analysts believe religion could be the biggest reason for this decorated former guerrilla fighter to adopt a pacifist stance in the face of danger. Chiwenga, a devout Christian, is a long-time member of a Roman Catholic parish in Borrowdale, Harare, where he gets to meet regular citizens. General Chiwenga has met the current Pope Leo, who blessed him and his wife, Colonel Miniyothabo Baloyi, at the Vatican.
WITCH-HUNT
Apparently, Mnangagwa has launched a witch-hunt to ferret out opponents of his presidential term extension within ZANU PF. Chiwenga is accused of opposing constitutional changes that would hand Mnangagwa two more years in office without elections.
Mnangagwa relative Temba Mliswa took pot shots at the Vice President and Youth League president Tino Machakaire.
“Does Hon Rtd VP Chiwenga support CAB3? Yes or No. Please refrain from unnecessary elaboration,” Mliswa said in a public social media post addressed to Machakaire.
“Does it not strike you as odd that the Vice President has yet to unequivocally endorse a resolution from a party to which he claims allegiance? I observe a similar silence from you, the Youth leader, in this regard. Is t