A REGIME BUILT ON FEAR, CARS, AND COMMANDERS

Power in Zimbabwe today is not about votes. It is about who controls the guns. President Emmerson Mnangagwa knows this very well. He led a coup in 2017. He survived a quiet scare in 2019. Now he fears the same thing can happen to him. So he is changing the army again and again. He is also giving out gifts to buy loyalty.

Yesterday he gave the army more than 100 cars. He says 700 cars will come in total. He said the cars are the first phase of a big plan to “enhance mobility” in the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. But we all know what this is. It is a reward. It is a message. Stay loyal. Protect me.

Mnangagwa has removed many top commanders. Some were pushed aside. Some were sent far away. Some died, and some deaths were strange. These moves have made Zanu PF more divided. Fights inside the party are now worse. Many fear a fresh power grab before the 2028 elections.

Right now he is fighting with Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga. Chiwenga is a former army boss. He led the defence forces for 14 years. He was a soldier for 37 years. He was part of the 2017 coup. Mnangagwa also has military training and was Defence minister. The two men want the same prize. They want to control the state through the army.

Next month there is a party conference in Mutare. It is not an election meeting. But it still matters. His allies want to use it to push the Bulawayo idea from last year. That idea is to extend his rule beyond 2028 to 2030. That is a path to a third term. In 2027 there will also be a party congress where they choose leaders. That is another battle.

To stop a coup, he is breaking the army into pieces. He builds the Presidential Guard to match the regular army. He pays some commanders. He promotes on loyalty, not on merit. He rotates officers so they cannot build a power base. He sets up units to watch soldiers. He blocks free talk inside barracks. He pushes talk about the liberation war. He builds a leader cult. He tells soldiers that politics leads the gun, and that their job is to obey.

He also uses gifts. Cash. Luxury cars. Other benefits. Yesterday was one more show. This is payback. It is bribery dressed as care. It keeps commanders close and quiet.

He also plays the tribe card. Since 1980 many officers rise not by skill but by party ties and tribe links. Key jobs go to those who will not question orders. The army today is managed by tribe balance and rewards.

Since 2017 he has cut Chiwenga’s grip. Many 2017 coup players were retired, moved, or parked. In 2019 Anselem Sanyatwe lost the Presidential Guard and was sent to Tanzania as ambassador. In March 2025 he was suddenly removed as ZNA commander and made Sports, Arts and Culture minister. There were other moves too. The ZNA has had five commanders in eight years. Under Mugabe, one man held it for 14 years. That shows the churn and fear.

He also plants loyal people in the police, intelligence, and civil service. Our state is now run by soldiers. Party and state are mixed. Zanu PF stays in power because of the army. Without it, they would be gone.

This is the truth: he is not building a strong nation. He is building a safety net for himself. Cars, commanders, and fear. That is his shield. And that is why we must keep speaking. Loudly.