Zim GBC News | Political Correspondent
HARARE – In a dramatic move signalling an intensifying power struggle within the ruling party, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has terminated ZANU-PF Director-General, Retired Brigadier-General Ezekiel Zabanyana, a key ally of Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga.
The immediate dismissal, confirmed by an internal termination letter seen by Zim GBC News, comes just four days before the party’s annual conference in Mutare and is seen as the latest step by President Mnangagwa to consolidate his power and sideline factions loyal to his deputy.
The letter, signed by the new Secretary-General, Advocate Jacob Mudenda, states unequivocally,
“His Excellency, the President and First Secretary of the Party, has directed that your position as the ZANU PF Director General be terminated immediately.”
It extends the party’s “gratitude for all your rendered services” and instructs Zabanyana to liaise with the Treasurer General for his terminal benefits.
This purge follows a significant reshuffle of the party’s decision-making Politburo a few weeks ago, which saw Mnangagwa remove Secretary-General Obert Mpofu and replace him with Mudenda.
Political analysts link these swift changes to a reported confrontation between Mnangagwa and Chiwenga during a Politburo meeting on September 17, 2025. The altercation is said to have centred on the contentious 2030 political agenda, the volatile succession debate, and issues of corruption, exposing deep-seated rifts at the apex of ZANU-PF.
“The removal of Zabanyana so close to the annual conference is a clear message.
It underscores the President’s determination to tighten his grip on the party’s administrative machinery and neutralize any potential challenges to his authority,” a senior party insider, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Zim GBC News.
The dismissal of such a high-ranking Chiwenga loyalist sets a tense stage for the party’s conference in Mutare, where the underlying succession battle is expected to be the dominant, albeit unspoken, theme.
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