Covert Mujuru, Muchinguri tussle simmers

Muchinguri is the current chairperson of the Women’s League while Mujuru is part of the presidium and the Women’s League. Both sit in the politburo, ZANU-PF’s supreme decision-making body in-between congresses.
Recent media reports suggest there has emerged a tense struggle for power in the ZANU-PF Women’s League that could shake the party’s foundation.
Muchinguri’s gripe with the Vice President arose after she found herself in the political wilderness following her defeat by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC-T) in March 2008.
Informed sources close to the Women’s League boss believe Mujuru has not been fighting in Muchinguri’s corner in her bid to re-launch her political career.
Muchinguri, according to the sources, wanted Mujuru to reward her for the key role she played in enhancing the Vice President’s political profile.
In 2004, Muchinguri — alongside other influential women such as Thenjiwe Lesabe, at one time touted to replace the late vice president Simon Muzenda who died in 1997 — played a crucial role in making sure Mujuru ascended to the post of Vice President as part of the league’s drive to realise a 30 percent quota in Parliament.
Mujuru was nominated by six out of the country’s 10 political provinces, beating close contender and ZANU-PF legal supremo and Defence Minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa, who got four.
She was sworn in as co-Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe on December 6 2004.
While Muchinguri carried a lot of weight then, her drubbing at the polls in the March harmonised elections seriously weakened her political clout.
But Muchinguri’s followers and supporters, who believe that Mujuru’s loyalty and allegiance to the Women’s League has been diminishing, now want the Vice President recalled from the Presidium and replaced by Muchinguri.
Mujuru came under heavy attack from the Women’s League after she reportedly formed an alliance with MDC-T’s vice president Thokozani Khupe in Parliament to vote for ZANU-PF legislator for Goromonzi, Beatrice Nyamupinga, sacrificing her colleague Monica Mutsvangwa, the Senator for Chimanimani as the chairperson of the Women’s Parliamentary Caucus.
After intense lobbying, the ZANU-PF Women’s League indicated that the election results were null and void arguing the poll was rigged in favour of Nyamupinga. ZANU-PF is still to declare its position on the issue.
Nyamupinga is said to belong to the Mujuru faction while Mutsvangwa is viewed as a staunch supporter of Muchinguri, who is determined to see the Vice President replaced.
ZANU-PF insiders claim that the ultimate beneficiary of the Women’s League strategy could be Mnangagwa because of the close relationship between the Defence Minister and the Mutsvangwa family.
Muchinguri and Mutsvangwa hail from Manicaland province and are bona fide ex-combatants, hence, Mujuru views them as threats with a legitimate right to the high echelons of the party. But at the same time, the Mujuru camp sees Muchinguri as an extension of Mnangagwa who are positioning themselves for the latter’s ascendancy to the Presidium.
Mnangagwa is said to be President Robert Mugabe’s heir apparent although he has since publicly denied any intentions to replace the 85-year-old leader in the event that he leaves office for whatever reason.
Muchinguri’s sympathisers, reports say, feel Mujuru, who joined the liberation struggle in 1973 and became the first female commander in 1977, has turned her back on women’s issues, particularly those affecting women in ZANU-PF.
Muchinguri, who joined the liberation struggle in 1975, reportedly blames Mujuru for expending a lot of time and energy fighting political wars in her home province of Mashonaland Central to position herself as the next and first female president of the country, backed by her husband, Retired General Solomon Mujuru.
But insiders close to the Mujuru camp challenged Muchinguri to come out in the open and substantiate her allegations.
“Mujuru’s side is not going to respond. They feel they have done nothing wrong. Those who feel aggrieved for whatever reason should come out in the open and should the nation be swayed by Muchinguri, then history and the truth would judge them,” said one insider.
“Muchinguri was at the forefront of supporting Mujuru, people need to know what went wrong. Why the sudden change of heart? Who is dividing the women here? Is it the silent side or the noisy side? Muchinguri must give us the facts why she says most provinces are now against Mujuru.”
Political analyst Lovemore Madhuku said although competition within any political party was healthy as it cascades to the lower ranks, it also has the potential of dividing the party.
“There is nothing spectacular about competition,” Madhuku said. “Actually, if Muchinguri is challenging Mujuru, then it signals that ZANU-PF is transforming. People should actually focus on challenging (President) Mugabe. Competition should be encouraged across the board, in civic society, churches and political parties. We need competition at all levels. This could signal the renewal of ZANU-PF’s way of thinking.”
But another analyst who preferred anonymity said a win for Muchinguri was highly unlikely given the fact that ZANU-PF is under serious election threat from the MDC and, therefore, would not want to rock the boat at the top.
“There has to be a compromise,” the analyst said. “The boat is rocking and that’s not good for ZANU-PF. President Mugabe has to put a stop to this, unless if he wants ZANU-PF to be a thing of the past after his departure and become an opposition party for the next decade or so.”
As ZANU-PF heads towards the August women’s congress, Mujuru’s position as a proxy of the Women’s League in the Presidium could be checked.
And in the event that co-Vice President Joseph Msika, who is not feeling well, retires and party chairman John Nkomo takes over as a result of the December 22 1987 Unity Accord, Muchinguri is likely to become the party’s chairperson.
“This will be in keeping with the current trends where gender balance is retained at the high level,” the insider said.
“This will also have the effect of keeping Mujuru and Muchinguri apart in the meantime while appeasing and luring the women’s vote,” the analyst said. “Whatever the case, it is a fact that tussles between Mujuru and Muchinguri are bound to test the Women’s League in August and ZANU-PF (at its congress) in December.”