Grace shakes up Mugabe succession battle in Zimbabwe
Grace Mugabe may not be able to prevent splits in Zimbabwe ruling party Zanf-PF in the event of the death of her 90-year-old husband and president Robert
Zimbabwe’s ruling party could be heading for a devastating split as bickering between rival factions jostling to succeed ageing ruler Robert Mugabe escalates ahead of a key congress.
Over the years, Zanu-PF’s leaders have papered over the cracks forged by the battle to succeed 90-year-old Mugabe, playing down factional feuding even while acknowledging it cost them dearly in the 2008 elections.
“The fights have reached a threshold and it’s going to widen the fissures in Zanu-PF.”
But the arrival of Mugabe’s wife Grace on the political stage has thrown the battle into the open.
From the bully pulpit she has launched searing attacks on her opponents, including Vice-President Joyce Mujuru whom she singled out for fomenting factional fights.
Many see Grace Mugabe’s attacks and the clashes between rival camps as a harbinger of fighting that will characterise the party’s congress in December.
“The fights have reached a threshold and it’s going to widen the fissures in Zanu-PF,” said Charles Mangongera of the political think-tank Porterhill Research.