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Intra-party violence escalates in ZANU PF
Njabulo Ncube, The Financial Gazette (Zimbabwe)
October 14, 2004

http://www.fingaz.co.zw/fingaz/2004/October/October14/6766.shtml

THE revolution is devouring its own children as the faction-riven ZANU PF experiences an unprecedented level of intra-party violence.

The dangerous tensions tearing the ruling party apart come at time when the so-called Young Turks square up against the old guard which they accuse of not wanting to let go their monopoly on power. Inside party sources say that ZANU PF primaries would be held next month to choose candidates to represent it in next year’s crucial parliamentary polls.

Recently, Didymus Mutasa, a senior politician in the ruling party who is eyeing one of the posts of the dual vice-presidency, allegedly recruited a rag-tag band of unemployed party youths to mete out instant "justice" on party supporters in Rusape thought to be against his candidature.

One war veteran, James Kaunye, an emerging Young Turk with the full support of the boisterous war veterans leader Jabulani Sibanda, was beaten silly by Mutasa’s alleged agent provocateurs who went on the rampage in the constituency, beating up perceived Mutasa enemies.

"He (Mutasa) can’t go about assaulting our members. We are very angry over the issue and we are moving swiftly on the ground to ensure that he never wins the election," Sibanda, the war veterans’ leader, told journalists soon after the disturbances in Rusape.

In Matabeleland, the violence within the party has gone a notch further with operatives of the country’s dreaded Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) allegedly being roped in to deal with ZANU PF supporters linked to the old guard vehemently opposed to Sibanda, the war veterans boss. Sibanda has publicly stated that the war veterans would deal with any of the old politicians that are against the emerging new breed of politicians, like himself and other war veterans planning to move up the political ladder.

Last week four party youths who hold posts within the ZANU PF structures in Bulawayo were severely assaulted and tortured at Magnet House, the headquarters of the CIO in Matabeleland, resulting in Vice President Joseph Msika ordering an investigation into the CIO and Zimbabwe Republic Police bosses in Bulawayo. Msika said it was sad that ZANU PF was against ZANU PF.

The youths allegedly told the Vice President that they were tortured because of their backing of senior former PF ZAPU politicians against Sibanda’s political machinations in Matabeleland.

Sibanda, a former personal bodyguard of the late Vice President Joshua Nkomo, is seen in Matabeleland as a blue-eyed boy of Emmerson Mnangagwa, the Speaker of Parliament. It is widely believed that Mnangagwa could succeed President Robert Mugabe when he eventually retires at the end of his current term in 2008. President Mugabe has not publicly denied his alleged close association with Mnangagwa.

In Masvingo, the ruling party’s provincial offices have been closed more than once as party squabbles in the province spiralled out of control.

The big questions emerge: Is brother rising against brother as the architects of the Third Chimurenga fight for political turf to enjoy the spoils of the revolution? What are the implications of this intra-party violence to the country’s political landscape and the ruling party itself?

Political analysts who spoke to The Financial Gazette this week said intra-party violence in ZANU PF was not surprising as the party, which broke away from PF ZAPU in 1962, had a long history of violence before and after independence in 1980.

"We have to acknowledge that Zimbabwean politics has always been characterised by violence starting from the formation of ZANU PF, after independence and after the 1990s," said Eldred Masunungure, a political science lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe. "Violence seems to be a constant feature from the pre-independence to the post-independence period. Now it has taken a new dimension as ZANU PF cadres compete for power. It is eating from within," said Masunungure.

Brian Raftopoulos, who lectures international studies at the University of Zimbabwe, said the cause of the latest intra-party violence was due to the looming primaries as ZANU PF politicians sought to position themselves to run on the ruling party’s ticket.

"Competition for political positions is already on and is now so intense with the looming primaries. So tense is the situation that even senior politicians are being challenged by up and coming politicians," said Raftopoulos. "The stakes are very high. People are looking at consolidating positions at all costs," he said.

Masunungure said without an outside enemy such as the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), which has suspended participating in any future elections, the violence within ZANU PF was bound to escalate until after the primaries, which sources said would be held during the first week of November.

"Without an outright enemy, the violence is turning inwards to target newly-defined enemies. It has neutralised the MDC in the rural areas, the perceived stronghold of ZANU PF, so the violence is now consuming those people labelled enemies from within.

"There is also inter-generation conflict or tension in the whole episode," he said. "This is clearly shown by the Mutasa/Kaunye debacle. The Young Turks are saying: ‘We have had you for so long, now pave the way for us.’ But this is being met with violence."

Raftopoulos said the eruption of intra-party violence in the run-up to the ZANU PF primaries gave credence to the widely held view that the ruling party was prone to violence even at the slightest of provocations.

"It’s a confirmation that violence in ZANU PF is an integral part of its history. It shows that violence is a central part of the party and it is a continuation of the way ZANU PF resolves its internal problems, that is by resorting to violence," he said.

All along ZANU PF had previously been accused of systematic bullying and intimidation against opposition supporters. Up to today the MDC still claims that the last presidential poll won by President Mugabe was tainted by unfair campaigning and violence against its supporters.

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