GUNS AND MONEY ARE PUSHING ZIMBABWE TO THE EDGE

Zimbabwe is now a broken country. People are suffering every day. There are no jobs. Prices keep going up. Many families cannot buy food. Many young people have left the country to look for a better life. This pain did not just happen by itself. It came from greedy leaders who care only about power and money. I write this as a political activist who is tired of ZANU PF rule. I am tired of seeing my people suffer while a small group enjoys everything.

Today there is a new fight inside ZANU PF. It is a fight about who will take over after President Emmerson Mnangagwa. This fight is not spoken about in public, but it is real. On one side we see the gun. On the other side we see money. The gun is Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and his friends in the army. The money is businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei and his network around Mnangagwa. These two sides are now pushing against each other while the whole country suffers.

For more than twenty years Zimbabwe has been in trouble because of bad leaders. First it was Robert Mugabe. Now it is Mnangagwa. They both used fear, soldiers and police to stay in power. They also used money and state resources to buy loyalty. Because of this, our country became one of the worst examples of failed leadership in Africa. We used to be a breadbasket. Our fields fed the region. Today we are known for poverty, corruption, and broken systems.

This story of guns and money did not start today. It goes back to the liberation struggle. ZANU broke away from ZAPU, which was led by Joshua Nkomo. Inside ZANU there was also a fight for power. Ndabaningi Sithole was the leader, but young fighters turned against him after the Mgagao Declaration in 1975. They supported Robert Mugabe. Later Mugabe became the leader at the Chimoio Congress. From that moment, the gun started choosing leaders in the party. That culture has never ended.

Chiwenga was part of that early story. As a young fighter he played a role at Mgagao. Many years later, in November 2017, he again used the gun to choose a leader. He led the army that removed Mugabe after 37 years and helped Mnangagwa take over. The world was told it was a “military-assisted transition”, but we know it was a coup. The gun once again decided who would rule the country.

Now Chiwenga faces the same test. He helped Mnangagwa rise, but he also wants power for himself. To get that power he must remove Mnangagwa. But things are harder now. People are more angry. The economy is worse. The region is watching closely. Inside ZANU PF there is now a strong money group that stands with Mnangagwa.

Tagwirei represents this money group. He is a rich businessman, almost one billion US dollars. He is close to Mnangagwa. He sat in the Presidential Advisory Council. He now sits in the ZANU PF Central Committee. He even chairs a government body on land. He mixes business, government work and party work. That gives him great power.

So now we see two centres of power inside ZANU PF. Chiwenga, the retired general, has the gun and strong links to the army. Tagwirei, the businessman, has the money and strong links to Mnangagwa. Between these two men stands the future of our country.

For us as citizens, this must be a warning. Our lives are being used like small items in a big game. Guns and money are fighting for State House, but no one is fighting for hospitals, jobs or clean water. Zimbabweans are tired of being passengers while a small elite plays with our future. It is time we say loudly that this country does not belong to ZANU PF guns or ZANU PF money. It belongs to the people.