By Munacho Gwamanda-Zanu PF’s Director for Commissariat, Dr. Davison Gomo, has retired from his position.
Gomo, who worked under four different Zanu PF national political commissars during his tenure, was honoured at a ‘retirement’ ceremony in Harare this week.
Despite his ‘resignation’, Gomo reaffirmed his commitment to the ruling party, declaring he remained “a Zanu PF cadre for life.”
“I am retiring from my position, but I will never retire from politics,” Gomo said. “We must continue to protect our hard-won independence. We cannot allow Western-sponsored elements like Nelson Chamisa to reverse the gains of the liberation struggle.”
Zanu PF Political Commissar Munyaradzi Machacha praised Gomo’s legacy, singling him out as the architect behind the party’s network of affiliates that played a key role in voter mobilisation during the disputed August 2023 general elections.
“When I came into the commissariat, I was introduced to these affiliates and quickly realised that Dr Gomo had meticulously moulded them into powerful extensions of the party’s mobilisation machinery,” Machacha said. “He gave the commissariat strategic depth. I urge all affiliates to create updated membership registers, just as Dr Gomo had championed.”
Among the most prominent of these affiliates is the Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ), a shadowy organisation aligned to the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).
FAZ came to prominence in 2022 and was accused of running parallel electoral structures during the 2023 elections.
The group deployed operatives across the country’s 10 provinces, gathering intelligence on voters, intimidating opposition supporters, and manipulating community-based structures to influence electoral outcomes in favour of Zanu PF.
Another entity that emerged under Gomo’s watch was the Varakashi social media brigade, a loose coalition of online activists and trolls tasked with defending Zanu PF narratives, discrediting opposition leaders, and controlling the digital information space.
The Varakashi, reportedly linked to state security, aggressively attacked dissenting voices online and were instrumental in drowning out criticism of the government during key political moments.
Under Gomo’s coordination, these affiliates—along with dozens of others such as Teachers for ED, Pastors for ED, Young Women for ED, and Diaspora 4ED—formed an ecosystem of loyalty networks that blurred the lines between civil society and the ruling party’s political objectives.
By 2023, Zanu PF claimed more than 60 affiliate groups had registered under its umbrella.
At the farewell event, affiliate leaders and party officials hailed Gomo’s “strategic foresight.”
“We want to thank you for the journey you have walked,” said ZANU PF UK branch political commissar, Gwatidzo. “We will carry forward your legacy by mobilising diasporans to return and contribute to rebuilding Zimbabwe under Zanu PF.”
Bornface Mutize, another party loyalist and affiliate organiser, added: “As we move forward, we must remain resolute in defending the party for future generations.”
While Gomo’s retirement marks the end of an era in the commissariat, critics argue that his influence will continue to loom large, particularly through the affiliate structures he helped institutionalise.
Civil society organisations and opposition parties continue to accuse Zanu PF of using these affiliates to entrench authoritarianism, control rural communities, and undermine democratic processes under the guise of grassroots mobilisation.