Mnangagwa's strategy borrowed from Ramaphosa

Published: 3 hours ago

Mnangagwa's strategy against his vanquished deputy, VP Chiwenga, appears to follow a well-rehearsed script, one borrowed from the Cyril Ramaphosa vs Jacob Zuma political playbook. In the end, money talks.

Despite Jacob Zuma's immense popularity in KwaZulu-Natal and his strong liberation credentials, Ramaphosa outmanoeuvred him with calculated precision - the "Chigananda style" of politics. He even stashed large sums of money at his farm and used his financial muscle to bankroll an entire ANC Congress, ultimately turning the tables on Jacob Zuma whose dancing and singing couldn't save him.

Chiwenga himself has made costly strategic errors. He now finds himself politically exposed, without a strong, visible team to rally behind him. He is increasingly resembling the ill-fated Simba Makoni; isolated, under-supported, and politically vulnerable. Even those who support him will be afraid to be close to him or else they lose them big cars or get into mysterious road accidents.

What he needed was a credible and vocal team to articulate his vision, not lightweight allies like Geza. Being Anti-Corruption alone is not enough at this scale. Unfortunately, Geza is now being cast in the same light as the discredited, USAID-linked NGO protest groups, further weakening Chiwenga's position both internally and externally.

Even Trump and republicans are not kin on supporting Democrats-like political figures. China is closely monitoring to see who has its best economic interests.

At its core (this ZANU PF Infighting), there are no substantive ideological differences between the two camps - only personality clashes, tinged with subtle tribal undertones. With the full weight of state resources behind him, Mnangagwa has effectively executed his own "Cyril Ramaphosa moment," decisively outmanoeuvring his long-time ally.

Now, both Mnangagwa and Chiwenga are in precarious positions — political sitting ducks. Any wrong move from either side could spiral into a full-blown career disaster.

The rest of the fist-waving mobs sees Mnangagwa as their only last hope for maintaining a prolonged grip on power. They believe Chiwenga lacks the sophistication and statecraft required to manage the complexities of governance and Houdini escape from the opposition threat during elections.

Mnangagwa, having long served as the backbone of Mugabe's state machinery, is viewed as the last pillar of "stability" within the system. Now, as he edges toward his twilight years, the mobs clings to him out of fear and desperation - determined to keep him in power until his deathbed, because, quite simply, they have no one else.
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