The passage of the controversial Constitutional Amendment Bill 3 (CAB3) in the National Assembly effectively broke the unwritten power-sharing pact that has held the Zanu PF presidium together for nearly a decade and set President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy Constantino Chiwenga on a collision course.
Analysts told The Standard that the political fallout from CAB3 cut directly into the core of the 2017 coup agreement, transforming the quiet, cold war-style factionalism into an unmanageable institutional crisis.
CAB3 now proceeds to the Senate after it secured a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly with the support of Sengezo Tshabangu’s Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party.
Tshabangu hijacked the CCC from its founding leader, Nelson Chamisa. Observers have linked the CAB3 initiative to Mnangagwa’s succession before he completes his second and last term of office.
Mnangagwa’s term of office is officially expected to end in 2028, and CAB3 seeks to extend it to 2030.
Chiwenga has all along been seen as the frontrunner to succeed him, with businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei said to be a dark horse in the succession race.
However, once Mnangagwa signs CAB3 into law as largely expected the VP’s political path will become complicated as the Zanu PF’s faction has demonstrated unmatched financial muscle.
The CAB3 debate has exposed serious infighting and factionalism in the party, with cash and car donations playing a huge role in swaying support. Just recently, presidential investment adviser Paul Tungwarara triggered a fierce backlash within Zanu PF after his cash donations to party activists exposed growing factional tensions.
Tungwarara awarded US$170 000 for what he termed their role in defending Mnangagwa.
This came hot on the heels of his controversial US$200 000 cash donation and a top-of-the-range vehicle to rogue activist Rutendo Matinyarare — a move widely interpreted as an attempt to buy silence from a vocal critic.
But the largesse backfired spectacularly and sharply divided the Varakashi, a militant faction of ZanuPF activists known for their aggressive defence of the president and Tagwirei.
The discontent boiled over when Varakashi 4ED chairman for Mashonaland West, Levison Chambati, broke ranks to publicly condemn the donation, challenging the legitimacy of Tungwarara's selection criteria.
Chambati emphasised that the work done by genuine party loyalists is a matter of public record and should not be reduced to a patronage contest.
Chambati said if Tungwarara's intention was truly to reward top performers in the CAB3 constitutional amendment campaign, Mashonaland West—which recorded the highest attendance at public hearings and submitted the most written submissions to Parliament—would certainly have been represented.
"Yet not a single person from Mashonaland West was recognised," he said in his statement.
Analysts said the fallout among the Varakashi exposed the deep-seated, succession-linked factionalism, particularly after the passage of CAB3.
They said the passage of CAB3 represents an aggressive, deliberate containment strategy against the VP, who was instrumental in Mnangagwa’s rise to power as he led the coup that toppled long time ruler Robert Mugabe.
They also argued that Chiwenga’s patience had always been predicated on a predictable 2028 exit timeline, allowing him to inherit the presidium through established internal party structures.
“The passage of this bill freezes that trajectory, forcing a severe recalibration,” analyst Reuben Mbofana said.
“Moving forward, the relationship between the two leaders will shed any remaining pretence of shared governance and become highly defensive and volatile.
“Chiwenga cannot afford to simply sit out an elongated seven-year cycle that strips away his leverage, while Mnangagwa’s camp will view any military or legislative pushback as an existential threat.
“While the risk of an open, chaotic public rupture is held in check by a shared dread of losing total state control, the successful passage of CAB3 forces a dangerous escalation.”
Rashwheat Mukundu, a Harare-based political analyst, said CAB3 had ignited a serious factional war in Zanu PF.
“There is no doubt that there will be a rapture in Zanu PF, either instigated by Chiwenga faction or the Mnangagwa faction,” Mukundu said.
“Definitely these two sides are not reading from the same script on CAB3.
“So, the relationship will deteriorate whether the Vice-President will be kicked out, we wait to see.
“We are also waiting to see his response to what appear to be a political move to sideline him from the succession race by allowing the president to go all the way to 2030 and to potentially influence who succeeds him after 2030.”
Analyst Pride Nkomo said Zanu PF has essentially become a transactional political entity that views supporters as products to "buy" to influence Zanu PF’s succession politics.
“In their political construct, there is no room for ideologies or values; it is about money, and the more it's seen to be spent, the greater the impact on shaping political narratives,” Nkomo said.
He said some Zanu PF benefactors have become the most visible faces of the new politics of "rent or buy a cadre."
“For ordinary Zanu PF supporters in rural areas, the party views them as just voters locked into dependency on the state and party machinery. Essentially, they are a pool of political legitimacy and are kept in check by handouts and coercion”.
Political analyst Reason Wafawarova echoed similar sentiments, adding that CAB3 and Mnangagwa’s succession will be defined more by cash and vehicle handouts.
"This is transitional politics and they are preying on the vulnerability of people on the problems they created," Wafawarova said.
"People are being forced into prostitution of character". “Our youths are trading their character for a few dollars.
“They are like commercial sex workers; they don't want it, but they are being forced into it.”
Former Botswana President Ian Khama accused Mnangagwa of wanting to cling to power at all costs.
“Another power-hungry president has the constitution amended through rigging and cash inducements to extend his term of office,” Khama posted on his Facebook page yesterday.
“Zimbabwe has now become the latest in a growing list of countries whose presidents want to cling to power and manipulate the constitution to achieve that.”
The cash donations have exposed the fragile fault lines within Zanu PF, with sources suggesting that this is part of a broader struggle for influence and succession positioning within the ruling party.
Critics argue that the selective handouts undermine party unity and create a culture of dependency where loyalty is bought rather than earned through genuine commitment to the party's ideals.
Chiwenga last year warned that Zanu PF was being hijacked by unscrupulous businesspeople, some with close links to Mnangagwa.
He warned that the 83-year-old ruler was repeating mistakes made by Mugabe that led to his violent overthrow.