Vice President Constantino Chiwenga dramatically took direct aim at President Emmerson Mnangagwa at the firing range for the first time in their epic and high stakes succession battle. His “arsenal” was in the form of an explosive “dossier” which allegedly incriminated ED (Mnangagwa) and alleged state capture kingpins. He allegedly demanded that they be arrested and queried why that had not been done at that point.
According to multiple reports, so shaken was ED that he allegedly offered to resign – before making a hasty retreat to the Politburo, where he sought to find succour in familiar and less hostile territory. He sought to send an unequivocal and powerful message to ED that a turning point had now been reached in the succession battle – a measure of last resort tantamount to the severing of their long and enduring umbilical cord or whatever is left of it. It was an escalatory gesture of monumental consequence and made its mark on all of ED’s physical and mental realm – which was captured in all its pomp and glory via one of the most abiding images of the succession battle – ED turning his head and serenely meeting Chiwenga’s ice cold and stern gaze, brow to brow, in broad daylight and close quarters!
The unmistakable message was that of defiance, fearlessness and readiness to engage in mortal combat. Metaphors were ditched and replaced with direct, uncompromising, menacing and accusatory prose! The grand prize Chiwenga was seeking was ED’s capitulation from the 2030 choreographed misadventurism and a return to their oft stated November 2017 power sharing gentlemen’s pact.
Continue reading this article from Nehanda Radio.
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Whilst he demonstrably shook ED to his boots, he effectively let him off the hook and left him to fight another day, a highly dangerous outcome in a finely balanced and high octane succession battle. You see, “dossiers” don’t deliver power, not in Zimbabwe. They help to shape the narrative.
The narrative matters afterwards, not before toppling a “King” from his throne. Of what use is a “dossier” in an environment in which all state institutions are captured? Who orders the arrest?
Who makes the arrest? Who prosecutes? How long does that take?
Who convicts? Who sentences? Who enforces the sentence and superintends the jails?
You get the drift. At that very moment, having waited for so long to fire the first salvo, Chiwenga needed to be in a position to fire not just the first one, but all salvos in one fell swoop!
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Source: Nehanda Radio
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