CHARAMBA’S TIGHTROPE WALK BETWEEN TWO MASTERS EXPOSES ZANU PF POWER STRUGGLE
George Charamba is once again caught in the same brutal political dilemma that has haunted his career for years. As spokesperson for President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Charamba officially answers to his paymaster in State House. But in the shadowy corridors of ZANU PF power, it is Vice President Constantino Chiwenga who holds his real allegiance. This dangerous balancing act between two powerful figures is reminiscent of his past torment under Robert Mugabe’s rule. Back then, he was publicly humiliated by Grace Mugabe for the same crime of playing both sides. Now history repeats itself.
Charamba has recently tried to downplay the growing speculation that Mnangagwa and Chiwenga are headed for a bruising succession showdown. Posting online in a mix of sarcasm and desperation, Charamba pleaded with those fueling the divide to let him write his dissertation in peace. But his own words and detailed observations tell a different story. His public account of Mnangagwa’s actions at a recent ZANU PF event reveals subtle power plays that have raised eyebrows even within party ranks.
According to Charamba, the President made two moves that shocked delegates. First, he turned to Chiwenga’s wife during the conference to help pronounce a Ndebele word instead of seeking help from fellow leaders like Mohadi or Mudenda. This small act carried symbolic weight, as if signalling deference or trust toward the Chiwenga household. Then came the real surprise. Mnangagwa, in a move seen by many as deliberate theatre, handed over the conference’s final proceedings to Chiwenga and quietly left the room. The move had the effect of placing Chiwenga in full control of a process that some critics had suggested was stacked against him. This act did not go unnoticed.
Charamba paints a picture of unity between the two leaders, even highlighting how their speeches were eerily similar in tone and substance. Both men, he insists, condemned corruption and pledged allegiance to the party’s founding values. Both spoke passionately about Vision 2030 and the promise of an upper middle-income economy for all Zimbabweans. And both apparently drew from the same well of metaphors, historical allusions, and revolutionary rhetoric. But the very need for such detailed defence reveals deep unease beneath the surface. It is rare for a government spokesperson to go to such lengths to convince the public that all is well between the country’s two most powerful men.
What Charamba does not say outright is more telling than what he does. The political landscape is tense. The factions are watching each other closely. Charamba, with his front-row seat to power, knows the stakes. He has been burned before. Under Mugabe, his flirtations with the Mnangagwa camp made him a target of Grace Mugabe’s fury. She once tore into him in public, accusing him of double-dealing and disloyalty. That trauma is not far from his mind.
Today, Charamba’s carefully worded praise of both leaders and his repeated warnings to outside commentators not to misread the situation suggest that the ground is once again shifting beneath him. The dilemma he faces is not just about loyalty. It is about survival. As the battle lines for 2028 begin to take shape, Charamba must choose between two masters who may soon be on opposite sides of a very bloody political war.
ZANU PF thrives on silence, secrecy, and the illusion of unity. But men like Charamba, who live too close to the fire, cannot help but let the truth slip out. In trying to calm the storm, he has only confirmed that one is brewing.
