New Chinhoyi Battle Looms At The Coming Zanu PF Conference

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is further manoeuvring to change the party constitution to align it with the national Supreme Law following the recent far-reaching constitutional amendments to consolidate power and increasingly thwart Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga’s presidential ambitions, insiders say.

On the surface of it, the agenda of the conference is framed around the theme of “Industrialise, Modernise Towards Vision 2030,” focusing on economic development and public service delivery, but Mnangagwa has deeper political designs and calculations: he wants to deepen Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3, which extended his tenure from 2028 to 2030, to consolidate his grip on power, sources said. This has deeply frustrated Chiwenga and further blocked his presidential ambitions amid a raging succession battle. Mnangagwa might end up being ousted like his predecessor and mentor, the late former president Robert Mugabe, paving the way for Chiwenga’s rule, or Chiwenga might see his ambitions dashed with an extreme action like an expulsion.

Mnangagwa will open proceedings at Chinhoyi University of Technology in Chinhoyi, Mashonaland West Province, before about 7000 delegates, talking about the agenda and theme of the conference, but beneath the public rhetoric of unity and development, a high-stakes constitutional battleground will be laid for what could prove decisive in many ways. If the constitution is amended and Mnangagwa’s term extension is institutionalised and entrenched, that leaves Chiwenga in a worse-off position, giving the incumbent more power and room to decide on his successor.

A Zanu PF insider told The NewsHawks: “The impending conference is very critical in many respects. It will align Constitutional Amendment Act No.3 with the party constitution. This has many implications. For instance, pushing the transition timeline from 2028 to 2030 or beyond forces Chiwenga to wait out an extended period, diluting his political momentum and testing the patience of his remaining allies within the security apparatus. By leveraging recent structural mechanisms — such as the passing of Constitutional Amendment Bill No.3 and packing party structures like the Central Committee — Mnangagwa has systematically dismantled Chiwenga’s parallel power base within the party.

Chiwenga is forced into a defensive political position: he must publicly perform absolute loyalty to the President at these conferences to avoid charges of insubordination, even as the ground is cut from beneath his feet, and possible expulsion.” Insiders say the changes are likely to lead to postponement of the Zanu PF elective congress next year, meaning Chiwenga will not have a chance to take a shot at the leadership contest if he planned to.

For months, key Zanu PF provincial structures had been escalating an orchestrated push — coined the “ED2030” campaign— to align the party’s internal statutes with a broader national legislative agenda. The ultimate goal is to extend Mnangagwa’s tenure beyond his constitutional two-term limit, which was scheduled to expire in 2028, but is now extended to 2030. Sources say the real endgame is not 2030, but a “life presidency” for Mnangagwa, now referred to as Munhumutapa by some in his party, a reference to ancient 15th-century Shona historical monarchs.

The political manoeuvres expected at the Chinhoyi conference – the new Battle of Chinhoyi – represent a calculated strategy by the Mnangagwa faction to achieve two mutually reinforcing objectives: consolidation of power and neutralisation of internal succession threats mainly posed by Chiwenga. The real agenda of the conference is the entrenchment of Mnangagwa’s executive authority, while further effectively boxing Chiwenga into a corner to manage succession.