ZANU PF blames “clash of programmes” as politburo meeting abandoned

ZANU PF has postponed the politburo meeting that had been scheduled for Friday, 9 October, at the party’s headquarters in Harare.

In a brief statement on Friday night, Secretary for Information and Publicity Christopher Mutsvangwa said a new date would be announced in due course.

The party’s Director for Information and Publicity, Farai Marapira, said the meeting was cancelled due to a “clash of programmes, but nothing serious”.

A senior party source who was quoted by ZimLive dismissed that explanation, saying: “A clash of programmes from the same party? That’s hogwash. And in any case, politburo meetings take precedence over any other party programme.”

According to ZimLive, members had already taken their seats when the meeting was called off, before President Emmerson Mnangagwa had joined.

The NewsHawks had earlier reported that the meeting was cancelled amid fierce clashes between Mnangagwa and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga over plans to amend the ZANU PF constitution to align it with Constitutional Amendment No. 3, ahead of the party’s annual conference set for 12-17 October at Chinhoyi University of Technology in Mashonaland West.

On Thursday, a document purportedly from unnamed war veterans was circulated to journalists, warning that those pushing for the amendments “must come clean that they are no longer ZANU PF”. Chiwenga is understood to oppose the amendments.

Retired Air Marshal Henry Muchena told ZimLive he had seen the document and supported it.

“It’s not my duty to oppose war veterans. They are stockholders in the governance of this country. I’m aligned with what they are saying,” he said.

The document argues that any amendment to the party constitution must start from the lower structures and can only reach the politburo months later after exhaustive consultations.