By Political Reporter- President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga held a tense, closed-door Politburo meeting Wednesday, assessing the fallout from Zanu PF’s recent Bulawayo conference.

Insiders who attended the meeting reported a palpable chill between the two, and they reportedly avoided eye contact during heated discussions.

They said a Mnangagwa-aligned faction suggested taking legal action to reinstate his Vision 2030 plan, hinting at a constitutional amendment to extend the presidential term to seven years.

This comes after Chiwenga and his military backers opposed Mnangagwa’s push to stay in office until 2030, forcing him to announce an exit by 2028 tentatively.

The Mnangagwa-Chiwenga alliance, originally forged to unseat former President Robert Mugabe in 2017, has fractured, fueling an intense rivalry.

The pact was supposed to see Mnangagwa serve a single term before handing over power to Chiwenga—a deal known as a “gentlemen’s agreement.”

However, Mnangagwa’s reliance on the CIO, instead of the military, for his 2023 re-election further deepened the rift.

Mnangagwa also tried to neutralise Chiwenga’s military influence by bringing the Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander, General Phillip Valerio Sibanda, into the Politburo.