Mugabe’s ruling party fractures as Zimbabwean opposition unites
With livestock used as collateral for bank loans and a ‘zombie currency’, opposition forces in Zimbabwe are finally amassing to oust the 93-year-old Mugabe
Harare — As Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s ruling party is increasingly gripped by faction fighting, a once-splintered opposition is pledging to mount a united challenge to the 93-year-old leader in elections next year. At the centre of the infighting in the Zanu-PF is its political commissar, Saviour Kasukuwere, a leading figure in the Generation 40 (G40) faction that backs Mugabe’s wife, Grace, as his successor. Party executive councils in seven of 10 provinces have publicly called for the ouster of 46-year-old Kasukuwere, whose aggressive approach to opponents earned him the nickname "Tyson". They accuse him of corruption and undermining Mugabe’s government. The pressure on Kasukuwere, who is also minister of local government, and his G40 faction, is coming from party officials loyal to vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa, a 70-year-old former spy chief, as Zanu-PF struggles to find a leader who can eventually replace Mugabe. Street brawls between party members erupted on Apr...
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