Tshinga Dube, a retired colonel in the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and a member of the ZANU PF Politburo, has criticised party members who are urging President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his term beyond 2028, calling their motivations selfish.
Speaking at Lady Stanley Cemetery during the burial of liberation war hero Killion Dube, who passed away at the age of 89 on August 25 due to hypertension, Dube said it is premature to discuss ZANU PF succession.
The iconic war veteran expressed concern that such discussions could tarnish Mnangagwa’s legacy, particularly given his significant contributions to the liberation of the country and his ongoing role in its development. Said Dube (via NewsDay):
There are various opinions on the succession issue. Most of the members of the party have said he should hang on to power, but he has said that he will follow the Constitution.
We have not heard him saying he wants to cling on to power beyond his term of office but we should know that while men propose, God disposes.
We do not know what is going to happen in four years to come, even spirit mediums do not know, only God knows. Advisers are problematic, those advising him are only looking at things that benefit themselves.
We must be careful with the advice that we give to the President so that it does not benefit individuals only because we want his legacy to remain; these things can destroy his legacy after working so hard as a minister, surviving hangman’s noose and at the end of the day his legacy is destroyed like that.
Dube said the upcoming ZANU PF conference was administrative and not an elective one.
The ZANU PF 21st National People’s Conference will be held at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) Grounds in Bulawayo from October 22 to 27, 2024.
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