Source: Break-ins scare Zanu PF chefs – DailyNews Live
Tendai Kamhungira 2 July 2017
HARARE – As the Zanu PF succession wars enter a new phase, the list of
unexplained break-ins at premises of the ruling party’s bigwigs continues
to grow, in a development analysts say indicates the depth of the acrimony
between the party members.
Observers say the incessant break-ins are inside jobs, aimed at sourcing
information to outmanoeuvre one another as the battle to succeed President
Robert Mugabe continues unabated.
The protagonists in the battle to succeed the 93-year-old Zanu PF
strongman include two significant factions antagonistic to each other, the
Generation 40 (G40) and its arch-rival Team Lacoste.
The latter is rooting for Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa to succeed
Mugabe, while the former is having none of it.
Political analyst, Maxwell Saungweme, told the Daily News on Sunday that
the break-ins are further proof of how daring the factions are in their
pursuit of power and that there are no sacred cows in the bloody fights.
“The break-ins show that no one is safe in Zanu PF. That the cases have
never been concluded raises more questions than answers. Those are some
indicators of implosion of the party from within. They are turning against
each other,” he said.
The well documented break-ins have been taking place over the past three
years, with the latest being the one at Defence minister Sydney
Sekeramayi’s Borrowdale residence.
This had been preceded by a list of other break-ins at senior government
officials’ offices that include Mnangagwa, Higher and Tertiary Education
minister Jonathan Moyo, Macro-Economic Planning and Investment Promotion
minister Obert Mpofu and the late former chief justice Godfrey
Chidyausiku.
Mnangagwa has been probably the biggest victim of the break-ins since his
appointment as the country’s vice president in 2014.
However, what is interesting about all this is that the outcome of the
investigations has never been made public.
Mnangagwa was appointed the vice president after the sacking of Mugabe’s
former deputy, Joice Mujuru and several party bigwigs, on accusations of
attempting to topple Mugabe in 2014 as the factional combat reached a
crescendo.
This is, however, not surprising as there are many other examples where
the police have not made public the outcome of their investigations,
making analysts suspect and conclude that the investigations revealed
sensitive information linked to the Zanu PF succession fights.
The break-in at Chidyausiku’s offices took place in 2014, where the
thieves went away with a desktop computer and a television set among some
of the items.
At Mpofu’s offices, in the 2015 break-in, nothing was stolen, while
thieves went away with two laptops and other electrical gadgets, when they
broke into Moyo’s offices last year.
What boggles the minds of many citizens is how frequent these break-ins
are taking place and how the “thieves” are managing to gain entry at these
officials’ premises considering that these places are always guarded by
armed police officers.
It would be daring for a thief to trespass on such premises without
expecting the worst, making the break-ins more suspicious.
Some have been wondering if the general members of public are safe in a
country, where “thieves” can pounce on the place of residence of the
Defence minister, who has so much security.
Shakespeare Hamauswa, a political analyst, said without doubt, the
break-ins are linked to the Zanu PF succession wars.
“Those break-ins are a manifestation of the succession wars. The security
system in Zimbabwe is sophisticated such that they could have concluded
what was going on,” he said.
In the Sekeramayi case, the break-in took place after his name was thrown
into the succession race by Moyo, while he was presenting a paper at Sapes
Trust.
Moyo, who is largely believed to be a G40 member, threw Sekeramayi to the
deep end, with analysts suspecting the Defence minister is now the cabal’s
leader, literally pitting him against Mnangagwa.
With the succession issue blowing high and hot, it has become the only
reason outside any police investigations that people attribute to the
break-ins.
“The victims have been linked to succession war in Zanu PF. This gives
credence to the assumption that the break-ins are a continuation of the
succession war through other means,” Hamauswa said.
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