By Hopewell Chin’ono
In a dramatic announcement, President Emmerson Mnangagwa of Zimbabwe has fired the Secretary-General of the ruling ZANUPF, Dr Obert Mpofu, and demoted him to the position of ICT Secretary.
Mpofu, who is very close to Vice-President General Constantino Chiwenga, Mnangagwa’s arch-rival in the bitter succession fight, has long been seen as one of Chiwenga’s strongest counterweights in ZANUPF.
The past two weeks have been marked by heightened drama inside the ruling party after Vice-President Chiwenga presented an explosive anti-corruption dossier accusing Mnangagwa’s allies of looting billions of dollars, with particular focus on Kudakwashe Tagwirei, widely regarded as Mnangagwa’s preferred successor. The allegations have shaken the party and deepened mistrust between the two factions.
President Mnangagwa, who was scheduled to travel to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, abruptly cancelled the trip after threats emerged that his closest allies could be arrested in his absence. According to reports, the Central Intelligence Organization strongly advised him against travelling, warning that leaving the country would expose his camp to crippling blows from rivals.
The President is said to be deeply unsettled, fearing that a coup may be imminent, as the internal war between him and Chiwenga escalates to levels unseen since the ouster of Robert Mugabe in 2017. The demotion of Mpofu is therefore being read as a desperate attempt by Mnangagwa to weaken Chiwenga’s power base within the party, but it may also signal that the succession battle has reached a dangerous turning point that could destabilise the country further.
Alongside the demotion of Obert Mpofu from Secretary-General to ICT Secretary, the reorganisation announced by ZANUPF through Christopher Mutsvangwa introduced three other significant changes in the Politburo.
Jacob Mudenda, previously the Treasurer General, has now been elevated to Secretary-General of the Party, replacing Obert Mpofu. This is a powerful position in ZANUPF, placing Mudenda at the administrative centre of the party.
Patrick Chinamasa, formerly the Secretary for Legal Affairs, takes over as Treasurer General. This shift means he now controls the party’s finances, a crucial role since he is Mnangagwa’s ally.
Another Mnangagwa ally, Ziyambi Ziyambi, who was the Secretary for ICT, has been reassigned to become Secretary for Legal Affairs, replacing Chinamasa. This move keeps him within the Politburo but in a more influential legal role, especially with succession tensions intensifying.
These changes show a clear reshuffling of loyalties around Mnangagwa, as key figures are repositioned in strategic portfolios.
The immediate effect is to weaken Mpofu, a Chiwenga ally, while strengthening Mnangagwa’s hand by giving trusted loyalists like Mudenda and Chinamasa more central responsibilities.
