CHIWENGA VS SIBANDA: THE BATTLE FOR PRESIDENCY IN 2028 BEGINS!
Two of Zimbabwe’s most battle-hardened liberation war commanders are emerging as the key figures in a looming succession showdown that could shape the country’s political future after President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Retired General Philip Valerio Sibanda and Vice President Constantino Chiwenga both joined the liberation struggle in 1973, fighting on opposite fronts during the war against white minority rule. Sibanda, who fought under the ZIPRA banner using the war name Ananias Gwenzi, reportedly trained in Morogoro, Tanzania, and later in Lebanon. Chiwenga, then known by his guerrilla name Dominic Chinenge, operated under ZANLA and received military training in Mozambique.
Now, decades after the liberation war, the two veterans are once again being spoken of in the same breath this time as possible heirs to the presidency.
Sibanda’s recent elevation to the ZANU-PF Politburo has fuelled speculation that he is President Mnangagwa’s preferred successor. But Chiwenga, long viewed as a powerful political force within the ruling party and security establishment, is still widely seen as the frontrunner for the top job in 2028.
With rival liberation war legacies, deep military influence and competing political backers, insiders say the battle to succeed Mnangagwa could become one of the fiercest succession contests in recent Zimbabwean history.