Mugabe reportedly faces leadership challenge

Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe allegedly could face a leadership challenge at a crucial congress of his ruling party next month, Reuters reported. In the last month, Mugabe has purged ZANU-PF provincial executive committees dominated by party rebels seeking his early exit, saying they failed the party in June parliamentary polls. But the news agency reported analysts as saying that Mugabe, 76, risks a damaging split in his party if he tries to remain leader in the run-up to the 2002 national presidential vote or imposes a successor.

“If he survives a strong (congress) challenge, it will leave him weaker, but if he decides to spell out a retirement programme, he might have a chance to decide who succeeds him in ZANU-PF,” political analyst Brian Raftopolous said. “But I don’t think his successor will necessarily make it to State House (presidential residence) in 2002.” The dispatch suggested that Mugabe has three options: He can hang onto power; hand over the party presidency to a candidate of his choice; or persuade his two vice presidents to step down in favour of younger officials who can be groomed for power.

“From the manoeuvring we are seeing, it appears he is toying with option three, which means he wants to retain the party leadership for now while placing his own man in a position to succeed him in 2002,” one analyst said. “The strategy is to outflank his party rivals by ensuring that those who come to the December congress will faithfully follow his script,” said Emmanuel Magade, a law lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe in Harare. “For now, he may appear to have won the game, but I think the question of succession is so pressing within ZANU-PF that he may still face a big challenge at the congress,” he said.