ZimPI includes some veterans of the period of the liberation struggle who were among the founders of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) in 1999. In discussion they pointed out that in the early period of the Inclusive Government, 2008-10, ZANU-PF ministers decided to promote a style of dance music and to provide opportunities for youth to indulge in drugs and casual sex, and the result today is that many youths are alcoholic and unable to perform as militant activists.
They argued for a new discourse in the opposition and for the ruling party to take a positive view about the role of a political opposition. This would enable a culture of tolerance and peace to develop. They noted that some people in ZANU-PF can be bridges to the opposition. They pointed to the recent appointment by President Mnangagwa of a non-ZANU-PF woman, Bina, to the Senate, as a positive sign.
They also considered that Gift Konjana, a former MDC member who joined ZANU-PF and was quickly elected to a local council in a by-election in February 2026, and then suddenly disappeared, had been killed for political reasons. They asked out loud, “Who would be brave enough to kill Konjana?” but did not answer their question.
They also noted that Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) had put aside their antagonistic approach to the government, a significant change for the better. Another antagonistic group, Crisis Coalition in Zimbabwe shut down in May – perhaps impacted by the abolition of USAID.
More broadly, they showed a serious respect for the capacity of the state intelligence service to understand the opposition. They believed that after 2013 the intelligence placed people into the opposition with the goal of becoming decision-makers. As a result, the intelligence agency has far more control than before.
On the other hand, ZANU-PF has been pressing the head of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches to cease being the vanguard organisation of the community opposition to the recent change in the Constitution (CAA3). Since the ZCC leader comes from the Lutheran Church, ZANU-PF threatened to hold a protest outside Lutheran Churches every Sunday. This is hardly a respectful approach to political opposition.
The broader picture is one where mining exports are expanding, with Chinese investors playing a large role, but where the great majority of the people have virtually no income. Most people have little cash. But some specific personalities, such as the late Wicknell Chivayo and Kudakwashe Tagwirei, known as “tenderpreneurs”, flaunt massive wealth in the media.
