By A Correspondent-Top Zanu PF Women’s League officials nearly came to blows at a tense Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting in Mutare, as deepening factional battles for control of the party’s Manicaland structures spilled into the open.
The dramatic altercation — witnessed by senior party officials and delegates — saw rival factions aligned to Zanu PF secretary for legal affairs Patrick Chinamasa and Senate president Mabel Chinomona clash over who should lead the provincial women’s league.
The main protagonists in the showdown were acting provincial chairperson Mercy Sacco, widely regarded as Chinamasa’s ally, and Dorothy Mabika, a political heavyweight allegedly backed by Chinomona. Both women attempted to assert dominance at the high table during the meeting, each claiming to be the legitimate leader of the women’s league in the province.
Chinamasa was forced to intervene publicly, urging the two rivals to avoid further embarrassment and await a final determination from the politburo.
“I am the secretary for legal affairs and I must ensure that the party constitution is upheld,” Chinamasa said. “The election of Mabika as chairperson was not sanctioned by the party. It was overruled, and Sacco remains the acting chairperson until the politburo makes a final decision.”
The position became vacant last year following the suspension of then-chairperson Happiness Nyakuedzwa. Mabika claims to have been legitimately elected earlier this year, but Chinamasa insists the process was irregular.
“I raised this matter in the politburo, and it is now on the agenda for the next meeting on July 4. Until then, we will not embarrass anyone. That is why both women are here today,” he added, in an attempt to restore order.
However, the spectacle in Mutare laid bare the extent of infighting gripping the ruling party, particularly as rival camps within the women’s league openly jockey for power and influence in the post-Mugabe era.
Some party members at the meeting supported Mabika’s claims, saying she was duly elected through a democratic process. Yet the open confrontation — and the need for high-level arbitration — underscores the widening cracks in Zanu PF’s internal cohesion, especially in key provinces like Manicaland.
When contacted for comment, Zanu PF’s director of information, Farai Marapira, sought to downplay the incident, dismissing the reports of factionalism as “opposition propaganda.”
“There are no factions in Zanu PF,” Marapira claimed. “What people are witnessing is vibrant internal engagement, which is being mischaracterized by opposition elements who wish to destabilize the party.”
Despite these denials, the heated scenes in Mutare suggest that factionalism — long a feature of Zanu PF’s internal politics — remains alive and well, with competing power blocs now openly challenging each other even at grassroots levels.