Fresh divisions are emerging within ZANU PF's Makoni District after District Coordinating Committee chairperson Kudzi Chipanga announced the co-option of Moses Ruona as DCC Secretary for Culture and Heritage, a move that critics within the party allege was made without following established party procedures.
The announcement, carried in a Manicaland Province publication, portrays Makoni as united behind President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the party's "2030" agenda, while praising Chipanga for "uniting people" and steering the district towards the vision of the Second Republic.
However, some party members contend that the appointments have deepened divisions rather than fostered unity, alleging that Chipanga is surrounding himself with loyalists associated with the former G40 faction.
The controversy has also revived scrutiny of Chipanga's own political history.
As ZANU PF Youth League secretary in November 2017, Chipanga fiercely defended then-President Robert Mugabe amid escalating tensions with the military.
Related Stories
At the time, he declared that the Youth League would "not sit idly and fold our hands whilst cheap potshots and threats are made against the legitimate and popularly elected Leader of the revolutionary party, ZANU-PF and Zimbabwe, His Excellency... Robert Gabriel Mugabe."
He added: "Defending the revolution and our Leader and President is an ideal we live for and if need be it is a principle we are prepared to die for."
Hours later, the military intervened, leading to Mugabe's removal from power. Chipanga was reportedly detained before later appearing on national television apologising to the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, saying the Youth League statement had not been authored by them and that they had merely been used.
He was subsequently expelled from ZANU PF in November 2017 together with several senior figures aligned to the G40 faction before being readmitted to the party in July 2021, although he remained barred from holding party office for three years.
Critics now argue that his return to leadership positions has reignited old factional tensions in Makoni, while supporters maintain that the appointments are part of ongoing efforts to strengthen party structures and consolidate support for the Incumbent.
Leave Comments