Zimbabwe, President of Mangangwa, Blessed Geza and Drama Continuity

The long convoy of the armored car, which swept around Harare, caused concern – for a short moment – that Zimbabwe had a military coup.

“What’s going on in Zimbabwe?” One person is located in social media. Another said, “The last time it happened, there was a coup.”

Government spokeswoman Nick Mangvan quickly reduced the public, explaining that the tanks were in the capital, which in mid-February in the framework of the planned exercise for the equipment testing and “nothing concerns”.

And yet the chatter and assumptions continued, revealing a lot about the state.

On the eve of the usual military drill, President Emmerson Mangangwa first after became president in 2017, faced a fierce criticism of his leadership because of his Zanu-PF party calling to abandon him.

The allegations have caused memories of the coup that dumped his predecessor, the long -standing leader Robert Mugabe.

He came to power in 1980 as a revolutionary hero, which ended with the decades of the White Minority rules. But his death was announced when the veterans of the Independence War of the 1970s abandoned his support.

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

He became angry when some in the party began to push changes to the country’s laws to allow the president to seek a third term.

In the series, he often called on the 82-year-old president to go or remove his face in the series of often saturated press conferences.

“I have to apologize for helping him to come to his post,” Gizza said at one press conference on social media about the president, nicknamed “Crocodile”.

“As soon as he (Mangangwa) had the taste of power, he grew corruption, forgot about people and remembered only his family,” said an open veteran of the war, which was then a member of the powerful Central Committee of Zan-PF.

“Mnangagwa also surrendered to his wife and children. Unfortunately, we see that the story is repeated. We cannot allow it to happen.”

Zano -PF was outraged by his “non -losing” remarks – later described as “in connection with betrayal” – forcing the bomb to hide from where, through his representatives, he continues to make ridicule through social media, hinting at the protests.

He is searched for by police on four accusations, including theft of vehicles, undermining the powers of the president and inciting public violence.

Blessed MHLANGA, a journalist who first questioned Bombshell in November, was also arrested on charges of transferring a message that fired violence.

The problems began to write over the ambitions of the mangaga to remain as Zanu-PF rally last year. Currently, the president is serving his second and term, which expires in 2028.

The slogan “2030 he will still be a leader” began to say his supporters, despite the fact that the Zimbabwe Constitution restricts the President’s conditions for two five-year time.

They claimed that he would need to remain in office to complete his “agenda 2030” development program when he was doing such a great job.

Then the petition was unanimously at the Zanu-PF conference in December, which did not talk about the third term, but sought to extend the existing Mnangagwa term by 2030.

Despite the recent confidence in Mnangagwa that he intended to leave in three years, influential Roman Catholic bishops began to participate.

In the pastoral letter last week, the Conference of Catholic Bishops Zimbabwe warned that the discussion in 2030 was distracting from things that are really important – closing business, high unemployment, rampant corruption and economic policy that contribute to the usual Zimbabvians.

Presidential Spokesman George Charba expressed his disappointment that he spoke about the speech of the clerics, informing the state newspaper Herald that the case was “dead and buried”.

However, the Bombshell message seems to have landed. This led to cleaning in the Zanu-PF with the expulsion of Geza and some of its allies.

However, political analyst Takura Zzangoj says the explosion of Geza is unlikely to force the crowd.

These days, people are less interested in such political spectacles, he says, unlike the time of Mugabe’s fall, when Zimbabvians, including supporters of the opposition party, were massive to support the coup – thanks to the military and veterans of the war.

“Even this attempt to talk about corruption and the difficult situation of workers – it will not make people crack, organize, mobilize. They no longer have such ability and interest,” he says BBC.

“I can promise you that by 2028 it is not to repeat 2017,” he said, adding that the Zimbabvians believed that they were used in the displacement of Mugabe and would not be brought out again for Zan-PF’s internal battles.

It is also because there are splits in the political landscape, including weak opposition.

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

Earlier, Giza expressed support in the successful discussion for Vice President Constantine Chief, 68-year-old former army chief, but other war veterans are known to support the 2030 agenda.

Political analyst Alyaksandr Rousser says that it is important to understand the influential role of war veterans both in Zimbabwe and in Zan-PF.

“They see themselves by the wardens, so you can’t wish their mood,” he says the BBC.

However, he believes that the current complaints that have been broadcast like Bombshell offer more independently than public interest.

“They feel as if they are excluded from the cake, which otherwise they should enjoy,” he says BBC.

Mr. Zhangoj agrees that those who show loyalty within the ruling party can use such things as tenders, state contracts, access to housing, land and agricultural investments such as fertilizers and seeds.

For Jameson Timba, the leader of the faction of the main opposition party, the Coalition of Changes (CCC), all this summarizes the state of policy in Zimbabwe.

“You have a country that worsens the economic situation. People can hardly afford more than one meal a day,” he said BBC.

“We have the main networks of supermarkets that are literally closed,” he said, referring to the economic troubles facing OK Zimbabwe, one of the largest retail sellers of the country, which was forced to close several large branches with empty shelves in others.

Mr. Zhanghazha noted that the forecast for the delicate economy looks even more gloomy due to the fall from the recent USAID suspension.

Timba is still recovering after a five-month-old prison, spending most of his imprisonment, sitting on the concrete floor, sharing cellular and 80 toilet.

He was arrested in June, together with more than 70 others, for holding an “illegal meeting” at his private residence when he held a barbecue to celebrate the International Day of African Child.

His treatment – and those who his colleagues – supported – reflected how the opposition policy criminalized, he said the BBC.

“The country faces problems. Any leader or government that is worth his salt actually calls for an early election, check and determine if they have a mandate,” he said.

“On the contrary, the joke is essentially (if) you talk about the expansion of the office.”

However, there is little chance of early voting.

So far, Bombshell remains in the hide, and the elections in the years – but the continuity discussion will continue to cook.