The Sunday Mail
By Patrick Zhuwao
It is fortuitous that in this week that I conclude my essay, the First Lady and Amai of the Nation Her Excellency Dr Grace Mugabe displayed amazing grace as she led from the front in restoring unity and cohesion, particularly in Harare Province.
It has been a week packed with her rallies, inter-spaced by her interaction with church leaders in Mazowe.
Through amazing grace, Dr Mugabe’s messages have been uniting, conciliatory, and focussed the country towards nation building.
I am, therefore, inspired and duty-bound to follow through the tone that has been set by the First Lady as I summarise, conclude and unpack the vaccine to factionalism that has emerged through Amazing Grace in the journey towards exorcising the devilish and Ebola-like virus of factionalism.
In this instalment, I will provide abridged summaries of the previous four instalments of my essay in order to set the scene for the conclusions that I have arrived at.
I will conclude by submitting that factionalism is driven by selfish and personal interest at the expense of nation building.
As I remind compatriots of how factional bigwigs have attempted to infect their factional virus into the party, I will re-emphasise the fact that factional bigwigs are paper tigers that seek to entice faithful Party cadres through threats that are premised on illusions of power which are far removed from reality.
I will then reinforce that factional bigwigs, aware of their ineptitude, have been hobnobbing with regime change agents in infantile efforts to effect a palace coup totally oblivious of the consequences of recent events, such as in Libya and Iraq, which lend credence to Kwame Nkrumah’s adage that “the only good imperialist is a dead imperialist”.
What is a faction?
A faction has been defined as a smaller organised group of individuals who have detached themselves from the larger grouping in pursuit of a different agenda.
There are three essential elements of a faction. Firstly, a faction is a small grouping within a larger group. Secondly, a faction is organised and exhibits some form of cohesion. Thirdly, the views, ideas and opinions of a faction are contentious and dissenting from the rest of the larger grouping.
A faction pursues self-interest at the expense of the common good.
In the case of Zanu-PF, factions have largely emerged around the political aim and purpose of securing political power through positioning specific individual persons in leadership.
They are inherently about achieving individual personal ambition and aggrandisement.
Ndezve munhu mumwechete anenge achida kutonga.
A significant factor in the operation of an organised faction is the ability of the faction to be in control of a power base.
Over and above using a power base as an enforcer (mandimba ndimba), the power base serves other key functions.
These include using the power base as a centre around which a faction recruits. The power base is often used as the organising centre for factional activities and events.
In 2008, factionalism within Zanu-PF led to the emergence of Simba Makoni as one of the presidential contestants to Cde Robert Mugabe. As could be seen from the surprise emergence of the Mavambo group out of Zanu-PF, factional operations are usually conducted in secret and with minimal public scrutiny.
This cloak of secrecy unfortunately leads to wide spread incidences of unethical behaviour.
Such behaviour includes the vote buying that was widespread during the 6th Zanu-PF Youth Conference. There are also widespread allegations of membership fraud within the party.
Other examples of unethical behaviour include ballot-stuffing, stack-outs and intimidation. The most disturbing effect of factionalism in Zanu-PF over the past year has been on the economy and business confidence.
There are several issues that were occurring in Zanu-PF and are being related to factionalism and subsequently becoming the subject of online group chats.
In these online group discussions, at the very least, factionalism was seen as a central and normal part of such occurrences and the subsequent interactions.
At their worst, the factional discussions degenerated into verbal abuse and threats of violence, sometimes using language that is unprintable.
What makes these occurrences frightening is that these conversations are being conducted by young people who constitute the very future of the party.
It was, therefore, necessary that the issue of factionalism was ventilated so that we could save our young people from the self-destructive path of factional politics.
It was hoped that this essay would be analogous to a visit to the New Start Centre which would enable Zanu-PF to identify the disease of factionalism that had infected it.
Once the presence of the virus of factionalism had been detected, the Party would be better able to combat its deleterious effects.
This could be done by stimulating the appropriate requisite interrogation that would result in discourse aimed at building sufficient consensus and momentum towards uprooting the cancer of factionalism from the youth who represent the future of the party.
It was submitted that there was deliberate, structured and organized, but yet subtle, implantation of factional politics at the 6th National Youth Conference.
However, there also existed a conviction that the majority of Youth League members were unaware and oblivious of the infiltration that has been visited upon them.
There is a submission that the infestation of factionalism into Zanu-PF is part of a programme that seeks to take over control of key structures.
The control of those key structures would be taken from the President and First Secretary of the Party, His Excellency Cde Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
This would be tantamount to a palace coup in the making.
The Makings of a Palace Coup
Factional politics in Zanu-PF is transcending into a palace coup that sought to usurp the powers of the people that are reposed in the President and First Secretary of Zanu-PF.
A palace coup is a revolt against a sovereign leader by members of his/her ruling group.
It represents a situation in which a leader is removed from power by the people who have worked with him/her.
The critical elements of a palace coup involves taking over control of key functions through the seizure of power.
The assertions about a palace coup in Zanu-PF are evidenced by numerous incidences of the illegal seizure of power for factional purposes.
The seizure of power was manifesting itself in several ways which included the deliberate, corrupt and illegal abuse of specific offices and functions, the unconstitutional creation of certain organs and functions, and the illegal allocation of functions and powers to offices that are not entitled to exercise such functions.
The violations of the Zanu-PF constitution were actually deliberately committed to communicate a sense of power and unassailability of certain factional kingpins.
It is a matter of illusion. Factional kingpins have no power.
Factional kingpins are merely paper tigers who rely on illusions, smoke and mirrors to convey a perception of power that they do not possess.
A paper tiger is something that appears threatening but is actually ineffectual and unable to withstand challenge.
The “ubhudhi Du” contingent of the factional Mavambo phenomenon conspirators appears threatening but they are in actual fact ineffectual and cannot withstand challenge.
These factional kingpins are paper tigers who rely on muzzling members of the party from exposing their evil deeds. The people have eyes and could see the nefarious machinations of factional kingpins.
These illegal seizures of power did not in themselves represent the actual power of the membership of Zanu-PF. The power exists in the membership of the party.
The people needed to regain and take control of their power from factional kingpins who were seeking to usurp that power that the people have reposed in their President.
Although threats are being used, members of Zanu-PF have sufficient power and principles to be able to resist them.
Factional kingpins in Zanu-PF do not have the courage and conviction of their positions to an extent that they openly talk of their objective of regime change.
Furthermore, they are so terrified of the democratic process of a secret ballot at the upcoming 6th National People’s Congress that they are alleging that voting is unconstitutional.
The regime change link to factionalism
It was necessary to understand the forces that are driving the factional Mavambo phenomenon and how factionalism is central to the efforts to effect a regime change in Zimbabwe that is underpinned by palace coup within Zanu-PF.
The factional Mavambo phenomenon, as it first manifested itself and in its present mutated form, has never been unpacked as an example and expression of factionalism then and now.
The fact that Zanu-PF has never formally critically examined the factional Mavambo phenomenon, in my view, is arguably the largest victory that the regime change agenda has achieved since the advent of Zimbabwe’s historic land reform programme.
The deleterious machinations of the factional Mavambo phenomenon needed to be critically examined because of its Ebola-like viral and haemorrhagic nature.
This was important considering that even though some of the elements of the Mavambo project left the party in 2008, some have remained entrenched within Zanu-PF as an insidious viral infection.
Some of those who left in 2008 have come back to re-infect the party.
What was clear, however, is that the factionalist and treacherous objectives of the factional Mavambo phenomenon has not changed.
Driving the perfidious objective of the factional Mavambo phenomenon is unbridled ambition that seeks to effect regime change and reverse the Zimbabwean total liberation, Independence and freedom project which has built up such momentum and energy towards delivering sustainable political and socio-economic empowerment and transformation as the basis for enhanced quality of life for all Zimbabweans.
The factional Mavambo phenomenon was becoming the dominant strategy for the regime change agenda as evidenced by the current insidious American project of the American operative Eric Little and his “Dirty Dozen” of Little men.
The factional Mavambo phenomenon has always been a tool of the regime change agenda from its inception. As a virus, the factional Mavambo phenomenon keeps mutating, changing and adapting its strategy in pursuit of its master’s objective of regime change.
It is important to unpack the fact that what makes the factional Mavambo phenomenon a manifestly harmful regime change project is that it has at least three components that this treatise should deal with.
These components coalesce into a regime change network which must be looked at closely and carefully.
Firstly, it was necessary to establish the elements of the factional Mavambo phenomenon who have left Zanu-PF and how they are relating with their fellow conspirators who they have left deployed within the party.
When Simba Makoni and Dumiso Dabengwa left Zanu-PF in 2008, they left behind sleeper agents who were instructed to lie low. These sleeper factional Mavambo phenomenon regime change agents were, and remain, reluctant to denounce the emergence of Mavambo because of close ties; they are referred to as the “ubhudhi Du” contingent.
The disorder and chaos that is manifesting itself can be traced to these elements.
The second component relates to determining how the factional Mavambo phenomenon conspirators are linking with external hostile interests and elements that are associated with the regime change agenda.
A glaring manifestation of this is the “Dirty Dozen” scandal. The factional Mavambo phenomenon conspirators are aiding and abetting the regime change agenda drivers in mapping out the socio-political terrain of Zimbabwe; which exercise the enemy cannot do despite having a sophisticated satellite surveillance system.
Why, for God’s sake, would any patriotic Zimbabwean facilitate for the CIA to acquire socio-political intelligence in contravention to the protocols that govern diplomatic behaviour?
The third component of the factional Mavambo phenomenon relates to how the “ubhudhi Du” conspirators who remained in the party are linking up with elements in the opposition parties and associated regime change elements through the Mavambo elements who left Zanu-PF in 2008.
Those who left the party in 2008 have remained deliberately deployed outside Zanu-PF so as to provide the link between the “ubhudhi Du” contingent with the architects of the regime change agenda.
The factional Mavambo phenomenon had to borrow the presidential votes of the then Mutambara-led formation of the MDC in the 2008 harmonised elections.
An analysis of the votes cast during that harmonised election shows a telling congruence between votes cast for Simba Makoni and those cast for the Mutambara-led MDC.
The language of the factional Mavambo phenomenon elements always refers to some form of a “new Zimbabwe” whilst attempting to negate that Zimbabwe became independent in 1980.
Parenthetically, the “ubhudhi Du” factional conspirators of the Mavambo phenomenon who are still hiding within Zanu-PF never ever say “down with MDC” or “down with Mavambo” or “down with imperialists”. That is how you recognise the “ubhudhi Du” contingent. The regime change agenda is being pursued from a multi-pronged approach. Infiltration within Zanu-PF is being used to ferment discord and disharmony.
This discord is then amplified and reported in the regime change media to portray an image that Zanu-PF is disintegrating and that the centre can no longer hold.
This sets the stage for an attempt to unseat the President and First Secretary of Zanu-PF, HE Cde RG Mugabe, and replace him with a regime change-compliant stooge.
Furthermore, the infiltration is also being used to lower the guard and vigilance of not only Zanu-PF, but State security agencies as well.
The selfish drivers of factionalism
It is my contention that factionalism is being fanned by the unbridled personal ambitions and greed of only a few factional bigwigs.
In pursuit of their selfish, parochial and unpatriotic interests, these few factional bigwigs have become willing tools of the regime change agenda.
They, in turn, are willing to sacrifice not only the general membership of the party, but will sacrifice their co-conspirators and use them as cannon fodder to be abandoned to the desolate deserts of political oblivion as evidenced by what has happened to Simba Makoni and Dumiso Dabengwa.
For a significant number of politicians at all levels, there is a need to plan and secure a political future. It is this requirement that motivates weak politicians to seek accommodation in a faction.
In some instances, that accommodation in the faction violates the principles that the politicians would have.
This issue was particularly current as we head towards an elective conference.
It was sad to talk to some senior politicians who are afraid of pointing out transgressions for fear of being left out of being elected to the Central Committee.
Unfortunately, in pursuit of personal political advancement, some members of Zanu-PF had succumbed to the lure of factional politics despite having personal misgivings about being factional.
I wish to emphasise that no member of Zanu-PF should subscribe to any faction. I have engaged with several other members of Zanu-PF who refuse to be factional.
My last word
All of the country’s daily newspapers for Saturday 11th October 2014 were carrying a story of some form of altercation that occurred during the First Lady’s rally in Mutare on Friday 10th October.
The stories have served to divert attention from the main content of the First Lady’s message about the need to vanquish factionalism.
I believe that the altercations were deliberated planned and orchestrated to divert the nation’s attention from the hard hitting messages that were being given by the First Lady.
All of these machinations have been designed by the paper tiger factional bigwigs.
Factionalism is a cancer that needs to be uprooted. My essay, in its five instalments, has been akin to a course of chemotherapy that is designed to coax the cancer into remission. Unfortunately, the cancer is refusing to go and is so stubborn as to require surgery. The people will conduct that surgery during the 6th National Congress and carve out the cancer of factionalism.
Pamberi navaMugabe chete chete.
Icho!
Honourable Patrick Zhuwao is the Chair of Zhuwao Institute, an economics, development and research think tank that focus on integrating socio-political dimensions into business and economic decision making, particularly strategic planning. Zhuwao is the holder of a BSc (Honours) degree in Computer Systems Engineering and an MBA in Information Technology Management (City University, London). He also holds BSc (Honours) and MSc degrees in Economics (University of Zimbabwe), as well as a Master of Management (with distinction) degree in Public and Development Management (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg).
