Cape Town – Zimbabwe’s city of Masvingo has reportedly turned into a high security area ahead of Zanu-PF’s annual conference this week.
The conference was set to start on Tuesday.
According to News Day, a heavy security team had descended on Masvingo, including state security agents.
The report said that the situation was so tense that residents were barred from moving in large groups.
The Zanu-PF government had also beefed up its security for fear of violent clashes among its warring factions, the report said.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Independent newspaper said that “plots and counter plots” were under way as “feuding factions prepare to meet after a grueling year of internal strife”.
Quoting a source, the report said that both factions in Zanu-PF were lobbying their supporters across the provinces not to be intimidated and attend the conference in their numbers.
A group of Young Turks, known as Generation 40 (G40), was allegedly pushing for First Lady Grace Mugabe to be the next deputy president, thus positioning her to eventually succeed the ailing president.
However, the country’s war veterans remained vocal about their unyielding support for Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
