Ray Nkosi | Fresh details have emerged on the ongoing tussle for the vacant VP posts between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and General Constantino Chiwenga, with the latter likely to get the post.

Mnangagwa has a hard choice to make against a background that the army must now go back to the barracks and public outrage at the appoint of senior military men in the top ranks of Zanu PF’s leadership. A particularly controversial appointment has been of General Engelbert Rugeje as Zanu PF’s Secretary For Commissariat.

If appointed VP Chiwenga also taking over confirms Christopher Mutsvangwa’s utterances that the military will play a major role in the 2018 election to give Mnangagwa victory.

The weekily Standard reports that, Mnangagwa deferred appointing the vice-presidents at the just-ended Zanu PF congress, saying he needed to wait for certain institutional processes.
Analysts said the statement showed Mugabe’s successor wanted to appoint  Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) commander General Constantino Chiwenga as one of his deputies.
Mnangagwa, the analysts said, was under pressure to appease the military.
“I don’t envy President Mnangagwa’s current position,” said UK based political analyst and former media lecturer, Reward Mushayabasa. “He seems to be in a very invidious position where he has to balance the competing interests of all the stakeholders who cleared the way for his ascendancy to power,” Mushayabasa said.
He said because Mnangagwa owed his current position to the military, it made him feel extremely beholden to them.
“We all know that Mnangagwa did not get into power through a credible democratic process. He came to power through a soft putsch staged by the army generals with the backing of the war veterans.”
“Against this murky political background, I am not surprised by the ever-increasing militarisation of his government.
Mnangagwa is just confirming what some of us suspected long ago. That he is a lame duck president.
“He is beholden to the military and the war veterans and cannot make his own independent decisions. Until he submits himself to a credible free and democratic general election, ‘the military influence’ in his government will continue to be his Achilles’ heel.”
A source within the ruling party who claimed to know “the plan with the VP appointments”, however, said Chiwenga and Defence minister Kembo Mohadi are tipped for appointment this week.
Mnangagwa was expected to announce his two VPs at the just-ended Zanu PF special congress but deferred it to this week to clear what he described as “institutional” requirements likely associated with the possible retirement of Chiwenga as commander of the defence forces.