Harare, Zimbabwe – A volcanic power struggle inside Zimbabwe’s ruling ZANU-PF party has burst into the open after a video emerged showing President Emmerson Mnangagwa issuing what analysts call a direct challenge to his deputy, Constantino Chiwenga, and the military establishment that helped put him in power. In the footage, Mnangagwa is heard declaring, ‘I am King’ and describing the construction of a personal political empire – language that has sent shockwaves through a country already reeling from economic collapse and a succession crisis.
The clip, which has gone viral on social media, captures Mnangagwa in what appears to be a private meeting with loyalists. He threatens to ‘crush’ anyone who challenges his authority and boasts that his network of supporters now outweighs the influence of the military. ‘There is no king but me,’ he is heard saying. The remarks are widely seen as a direct jab at Chiwenga, the former army general whose 2017 coup toppled Robert Mugabe and elevated Mnangagwa to the presidency. Since then, the two men have been locked in a quiet but lethal rivalry over control of the party, state resources, and the eventual succession before elections scheduled for 2028.
The Fractured Command
