Biti says Zimbabwe faces biggest existential threat since Gukurahundi – Nehanda Radio

Former Finance Minister Tendai Biti has warned that Zimbabwe faces the biggest existential threat since the Gukurahundi persecution in the 1980s, citing the ongoing succession battle within the ruling Zanu-PF party.

Biti’s alarm follows intensifying factionalism within Zimbabwe’s ruling party.

“The Third Term agenda is lively and active. It is naive to think that Zanu-PF will not pursue this project to its completion. This means that Zimbabwe faces its greatest existential threat since Gukurahundi. Biti said Democrats need to reset, reformulate and defend the constitution.

The Gukurahundi genocide (1982-1987) was a brutal crackdown by former President Robert Mugabe against the Ndebele ethnic minority.

Mugabe’s Fifth Brigade committed atrocities: massacres, disappearances, torture and rape, the killing of nearly 20,000 civilians. The regime consolidated power and suppressed dissent by targeting suspected dissidents.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga are locked in a bitter succession battle.

Mnangagwa’s alleged plan to extend his term beyond the constitutionally mandated two-term limit is rejected by Chiwenga. The former Army General is at the forefront of the race to replace Mnangagwa.

But the Zanu-PF leader has been reluctant to endorse Chiwenga as his successor, raising suspicions that he wants to cling on to power beyond 2028.

Mnangagwa’s warnings against indiscipline and opportunism highlighted divisions in the party at the 21st Zanu-PF Annual People’s Conference in Bulawayo last week.

Mnangagwa loyalists pushed through a constitutional amendment that would extend his rule beyond Zimbabwe’s two-term presidential limit.

During the conference, Chiwenga supporters, including administrative officials of Harare province, faced ostracism.

Exiled former Zanu-PF national political commissioner Savior Kasukuwere condemned the crackdown as “political irresponsibility” aimed at undermining Mnangagwa.

They demanded that Kasuku be held accountable, stating that Mnangagwa has consistently refused to expand his rule.

However, Zanu-PF’s Legal Affairs Secretary Patrick Chinamasa assured Mnangagwa that he remained committed to constitutional integrity, emphasizing his role in drafting Zimbabwe’s constitution.