By Munacho Gwamanda-Vice President Constantino Chiwenga made an emotional return to his childhood school on Saturday, a place deeply tied to both his personal journey and Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle.
His visit to Mount St Mary’s Mission School in Hwedza—where he and his late coup ally, Air Chief Marshal Perrance Shiri, once studied—came against the backdrop of intensifying political tensions with President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Chiwenga attended a Thanksgiving Mass honoring Father Cellestino Magwenzi, a former student of the mission school, who was celebrating his ordination as a Roman Catholic priest.
But for the Vice President, the occasion was far more than a religious gathering—it was a symbolic homecoming to the site where he and his comrades made a fateful decision that changed the course of Zimbabwe’s history.
According to the state media in 1973, during a tea break, Chiwenga and three of his Form Three classmates—Shiri, Brigadier-General (Retired) Richard Huchu, and Ernest Mandizvidza—chose to abandon their studies and join the liberation war.
Their decision, made in defiance of an oppressive colonial regime, was fraught with danger but ultimately shaped the country’s political and military landscape.
While Chiwenga, Shiri, and Huchu survived the war to rise to powerful positions in government and the military, Mandizvidza is believed to have perished in the struggle.
However, the nostalgia of Chiwenga’s visit was overshadowed by the deepening rift between him and Mnangagwa.
Once close allies, the two orchestrated the 2017 military coup that toppled Robert Mugabe, with Chiwenga playing a decisive role in installing Mnangagwa as President.
In return, a gentleman’s agreement was reportedly struck—Mnangagwa would serve two terms, then hand over power to Chiwenga.
But Mnangagwa has since tightened his grip on power, maneuvering to extend his rule beyond constitutional limits.
As tensions rise, Chiwenga finds himself increasingly isolated, with a string of unexplained deaths among his key allies fueling speculation of internal purges.
Shiri, a close confidant of Chiwenga and former Minister of Agriculture, died in 2020 under circumstances officially attributed to COVID-19.
However, insiders suspect foul play, given Shiri’s influence and proximity to Chiwenga.
Other military figures in Chiwenga’s camp have faced sudden and unexplained deaths or political sidelining.
With Mnangagwa securing control through security agencies and a loyal Zanu PF network, Chiwenga is under mounting pressure.
His visit to Mount St Mary’s Mission School, therefore, carries symbolic weight—it is not just a personal reflection on the past but a rekindling of the fighting spirit that once propelled him into the liberation struggle.
Whether Chiwenga can gather enough political and military leverage to challenge Mnangagwa remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: Zimbabwe’s corridors of power are once again a battleground.