A man called Bombshell fires up Zimbabwe’s succession battle

A
long
convoy
of
armoured
personnel
tanks
rolling
through
a
Harare
neighbourhood
sparked
concerns
–
for
a
brief
moment
–
that
a
military
coup
was
afoot
in
Zimbabwe.

“What’s
going
on
in
Zimbabwe?”
one
person
posted
on
social
media.
Another
said:
“The
last
time
this
happened
there
was
a
coup.”

Government
spokesman
Nick
Mangwana
was
quick
to
allay
the
public’s
fears,
explaining
the
tanks
were
in
the
capital
that
mid-February
morning
as
part
of
a
scheduled
exercise
to
test
equipment
and
were
“nothing
to
be
concerned
about”.

Yet
the
chatter
and
speculation
continued,
revealing
much
about
the
state
of
the
country.

Ahead
of
the
routine
military
drill,
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
had,
for
the
first
time
since
becoming
president
in
2017,
faced
harsh
criticism
about
his
leadership
from
within
his
Zanu-PF
party
with
calls
for
him
to
step
down.

The
accusations
evoked
memories
of
the
lead-up
to
the
coup
that
toppled
his
predecessor,
long-time
leader
Robert
Mugabe.

He
had
come
to
power
in
1980
as
the
revolutionary
hero
who
ended
decades
of
white-minority
rule.
But
his
demise
was
heralded
when
veterans
of
the
1970s
war
of
independence
withdrew
their
support
for
him.

It
was
a
war
veteran
and
senior
Zanu-PF
member
named
Blessed
Geza,
also
known
as
“Bombshell”,
who
launched
a
verbal
offensive
against
Mnangagwa.

He
became
angered
when
some
within
the
party
began
pushing
to
change
the
country’s
laws
to
allow
for
the
president
to
seek
a
third
term.

In
a
series
of
often
expletive-laden
press
conferences,
gritty-voiced
and
with
a
furrowed
forehead,
he
repeatedly
called
on
the
82-year-old
president
to
go
or
face
being
removed.

“I
must
apologise
for
helping
him
come
into
office,”
said
Geza
in
one
press
conference
aired
on
social
media
about
the
president,
who
goes
by
the
nickname
“The
Crocodile”.

“As
soon
as
he
[Mnangagwa]
had
the
taste
of
power,
he
escalated
corruption,
forgot
the
people
and
only
remembered
his
family,”
said
the
outspoken
war
veteran,
who
was
then
a
member
of
Zanu-PF’s
powerful
central
committee.

“Mnangagwa
has
also
surrendered
state
power
to
his
wife
and
children.
We
sadly
see
history
repeating
itself.
We
can’t
allow
that
to
happen.”

Zanu-PF
was
outraged
by
his
“disloyal”
remarks
–
later
described
as
“amounting
to
treason”
–
forcing
Bombshell
into
hiding
from
where,
through
his
representatives,
he
continues
to
make
taunts
via
social
media,
hinting
at
protests.

He
is
wanted
by
the
police
on
four
charges,
including
vehicle
theft,
undermining
the
authority
of
the
president
and
inciting
public
violence.

Blessed
Mhlanga,
the
journalist
who
first
interviewed
Bombshell
back
in
November, has
also
been
arrested
on
charges
of
transmitting
a
message
that
incites
violence.

Trouble
began
brewing
over
Mnangagwa’s
ambitions
to
stay
in
office
during
Zanu-PF
rallies
last
year.
The
president
is
currently
serving
his
second
and
final
term,
which
expires
in
2028.

The
slogan
“2030
he
will
still
be
the
leader”
began
to
be
uttered
by
his
supporters
despite
Zimbabwe’s
constitution
limiting
presidential
terms
to
two
five-year
terms.

They
argued
that
he
would
need
to
remain
in
office
to
complete
his
“Agenda
2030”
development
programme
as
he
was
doing
such
great
work.

A
motion
was
then
adopted
unanimously
at
Zanu-PF’s
conference
in
December
that
did
not
explicitly
speak
of
a
third
term
but
sought
to
extend
Mnangagwa’s
existing
term
until
2030.

Despite
a
recent
assurance
from
Mnangagwa
that
he
did
intend
to
step
down
in
three
years,
the
influential
Roman
Catholic
bishops
have
become
involved.

In
a
pastoral
letter
last
week,
Zimbabwe’s
Catholic
Bishops
Conference
warned
that
the
2030
debate
was
a
distraction
from
the
things
that
truly
mattered
–
business
closures,
high
unemployment,
rampant
corruption
and
economic
policies
that
favour
the
wealthy
at
the
expense
of
ordinary
Zimbabweans.

Presidential
spokesman
George
Charamba
expressed
his
disappointment
about
the
clerics’
pronouncement,
telling
the
state-run
Herald
newspaper
the
matter
was
now
“dead
and
buried”.

Nonetheless,
Bombshell’s
message
seems
to
have
landed.
It
has
resulted
in
a
purge
in
Zanu-PF,
with
the
expulsion
of
Geza
and
some
of
his
allies.

Yet
political
analyst
Takura
Zhangazha
says
Geza’s
outburst
is
unlikely
to
galvanise
crowds
to
his
cause.

These
days
people
are
less
interested
in
such
political
spectacles,
he
says,
unlike
at
the
time
of
Mugabe’s
downfall
when
Zimbabweans,
including
opposition
party
supporters,
turned
out
en
masse
to
support
the
coup
–
thanking
the
military
and
the
war
veterans.

“Even
that
attempt
by
Geza
to
talk
about
corruption
and
the
plight
of
the
workers
–
it’s
not
going
to
get
people
riled
up,
organising,
mobilising.
They
don’t
have
that
capacity
or
interest
any
more,”
he
tells
the
BBC.

“I
can
promise
you
there’s
no
repeat
of
2017
before
2028,”
he
said,
adding
that
Zimbabweans
feel
they
were
used
in
the
ousting
of
Mugabe
and
would
not
be
brought
out
on
the
streets
again
for
Zanu-PF’s
internal
battles.

This
is
also
because
there
are
splits
across
the
political
landscape,
including
a
weak
opposition.

Even
the
war
veterans
do
not
represent
a
united
front,
Mr
Zhangazha
says.

Geza
has
previously
voiced
support
in
the
succession
debate
for
Vice-President
Constantine
Chiwenga,
the
68-year-old
former
army
chief,
but
other
war
veterans
are
known
to
back
the
2030
agenda.

Political
analyst
Alexander
Rusero
says
it
is
important
to
understand
the
war
veterans’
influential
role
in
both
Zimbabwe
and
Zanu-PF.

“They
see
themselves
as
caretakers,
so
you
can’t
wish
away
their
sentiments,”
he
tells
the
BBC.

However,
he
believes
that
the
current
grievances
aired
by
the
likes
of
Bombshell
are
prompted
more
by
self-regard
than
public
interest.

“They
feel
as
if
they
are
excluded
from
the
cake
that
they
should
otherwise
be
enjoying,”
he
tells
the
BBC.

Mr
Zhangazha
agrees
that
those
who
show
loyalty
within
the
governing
party
are
likely
to
benefit
from
things
like
tenders,
government
contracts,
access
to
housing,
land
and
agricultural
inputs
such
as
fertiliser
and
seeds.

For
Jameson
Timba,
the
leader
of
a
faction
of
the
main
opposition
party,
the
Citizens
Coalition
for
Change
(CCC),
it
all
sums
up
the
state
of
politics
in
Zimbabwe.

“You
have
a
country
where
the
economic
situation
is
deteriorating.
People
can
hardly
afford
more
than
one
meal
a
day,”
he
told
the
BBC.

“We
have
major
supermarket
chains
which
are
literally
closing
down,”
he
said,
referencing
the
economic
woes
facing
OK
Zimbabwe,
one
of
the
country’s
biggest
retailers
that
has
been
forced
to
close
several
big
branches
with
empty
shelves
in
others.

Mr
Zhangazha
noted
the
forecast
for
the
fragile
economy
looks
even
more
grim
thanks
to
the
fallout
from
the
recent
suspension
of
USAID.

Timba
is
still
recovering
from
a
five-month
stint
in
jail,
spending
most
of
his
incarceration
sitting
on
a
concrete
floor,
sharing
a
cell
and
toilet
with
80
people.

He
was
arrested
in
June,
along
with
more
than
70
others,
for
hosting
an
“unlawful
meeting”
at
his
private
residence
when
he
held
a
barbeque
to
mark
the
International
Day
of
the
African
Child.

His
treatment
–
and
those
of
his
fellow
detainees
–
reflected
how
opposition
politics
was
being
criminalised,
he
told
the
BBC.

“The
country
is
facing
challenges.
Any
leader
or
government
worth
his
salt
would
actually
call
for
an
early
election,
to
check
and
determine
whether
they
still
have
the
mandate
of
the
people,”
he
said.

“To
do
the
opposite
represents
a
joke
essentially
[when]
you’re
talking
about
extending
a
term
of
office.”

However,
there
is
little
chance
of
an
early
vote.

For
now,
Bombshell
remains
in
hiding
and
the
elections
are
years
away
–
but
the
succession
debate
will
keep
cooking.