Tagwirei shocked as Five more Candidates emerge for ZANU-PF Presidency in 2027

By Shelton Muchena and Desmond Nleya

With ZANU PF’s succession politics reaching a boiling point, this publication has been reliably informed that more than five candidates are now eyeing the presidency, leaving Kudakwashe Tagwirei reportedly shocked, as he had anticipated as the only anointed heir to face Retired General Constantino Chiwenga.
Figures such as Tagwirei, Paul Tungwarara, July Moyo, and Christopher Mutsvangwa are increasingly viewed by insiders as some forces maneuvering behind the scenes, each seeking proximity to the President while subtly undermining rivals.
It has also emerged that both the Midlands and Masvingo provinces are dissatisfied with Tagwirei and are planning to back their own candidate, with Mudha and July Moyo reportedly among the frontrunners.
Interestingly, some of Tagwirei’s public allies, such as Paul Tungwarara are quietly pursuing their own agendas.
A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that many within ZANU PF are beginning to distance themselves from Tagwirei, viewing him as someone seeking to hijack the party through wealth rather than ideology.
“Tarisai, zvino Masvingo neMidlands varanyarara neNyaya ya2030, havamudi Tagwirei, kunyangwe vana July Moyo vari kuda chinu,” the source said.
(Look now, Masvingo and Midlands provinces are no longer actively pushing the 2030 agenda because they don’t support Tagwirei, even July Moyo wants the presidency.)
Speaking on X ZANU PF official and former Chivi MP Killer Zivhu appeared to confirm this narrative by saying more than 5 candidates were eying the Presidency.
‘The 2027 congress is shaping up to be a real showstopper, with five strong candidates vying for the top spot. What's adding an interesting layer to this mix is that some of these candidates are pretending to support each other’, wrote Zivhu on his X handle.

What alarms senior party figures is not merely ambition, but the duplicity with which it is exercised. Public displays of unity, loyalty, and friendship mask a ruthless internal contest marked by sabotage, whisper campaigns, and strategic patronage. “They smile together in public, but in private they are at war,” said a senior ZANU-PF official familiar with internal deliberations. “This is not comradeship. This is conquest.”

Nowhere is the fracture more visible than in the growing tension between these ambitious power brokers and Vice-President Chiwenga, who has openly spoken against corruption and called for accountability within government and party structures. Chiwenga’s insistence that those implicated in corruption must be investigated and arrested has made him a target for figures whose wealth and influence are deeply intertwined with state tenders and political access.

Several party insiders argue that these opportunists have chosen confrontation over reform precisely because anti-corruption efforts threaten their survival. “They fear accountability,” said one war veteran. “That is why they are fighting Chiwenga. Corruption is their lifeline.”

More troubling still is the perception, shared widely among party elders and rank-and-file members, that ZANU-PF has been strategically captured by individuals who were not even members of the party during its most difficult years. Veterans of the liberation struggle openly question how newcomers with no revolutionary history now wield extraordinary influence over state institutions and party decisions.

“There are people who joined yesterday and want to own ZANU-PF today,” said a senior party elder. “We are asking ourselves whether this is still a revolutionary movement or a company controlled by a few powerful individuals.”

The influence of wealthy tenderpreneurs has become a recurring complaint within party structures, particularly among the youth league and war veterans. Their concern is that financial muscle has replaced ideological commitment, and that loyalty to individuals now supersedes loyalty to the party and the nation.

President Mnangagwa, who has spent nearly seven decades in politics, now faces perhaps the gravest challenge of his long career. Allies and critics alike warn that unless he reins in those abusing presidential proximity for personal gain, his legacy risks being irreversibly damaged. “History will not judge intentions,” said one senior security source. “It will judge outcomes.”

There is growing anxiety within Zimbabwe’s security establishment that unchecked infighting and corruption could destabilise not only the ruling party but the state itself. Quiet warnings are being issued that internal implosions have destroyed ruling movements elsewhere on the continent, often with devastating national consequences.

Yet amid the cynicism, there remains a call to conscience. Veteran cadres argue that genuine members of ZANU-PF must awaken before it is too late, reclaiming the party from private interests and restoring its founding values. “If we remain silent,” one elder warned, “we may wake up one day to discover that ZANU-PF no longer belongs to its people, but to individuals.”

The succession question, once unspoken, is now reshaping alliances, fuelling corruption and exposing the dangerous fault lines within Zimbabwe’s ruling elite. Whether ZANU-PF emerges renewed or fatally compromised will depend less on ambition, and more on whether principle can still triumph over power.