When Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa became president of Zimbabwe via a coup in 2017, there was skeptical optimism that the country had been freed from the economic turmoil, poverty, and oppression that prevailed in Robert Mugabe’s three and a half decades in power.
Instead of facilitating the changes that Zimbabweans were calling for, Mnangagwa continued along the same trajectory as his predecessor. However his actions show that he had no interest in letting go of the reins of power, thus creating the conditions for a mass uprising or another coup. Whether through constitutional maneuvering or through military action, it is likely that a coup is on the horizon. Regardless of what the ruling party does, revolts will continue!
Both factions are cut from the same cloth
Two factions emerged in the ruling ZANU PF party: one supporting a constitutional coup to keep Mnangagwa in power and another faction aiming to oust him through a coup, led by members of ZANU PF with close ties with Zimbabwe’s military. Unfortunately, neither faction has the interests of the majority of Zimbabweans at heart. Both sides represent the same party, and share the same intentions to preserve the bureaucracy that has been used to oppress Zimbabweans for 45 years! Ultimately both factions are cut from the same cloth and are responsible for looting public resources and actively destroying democracy in Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, Zimbabweans are angry because they are not only subjected to various forms of oppression under the tyrannical government, but they are also forced to witness the overt displays of wealth by ZANU PF leaders including buying luxury cars for their bootlickers.
Mnangagwa’s “Vision 2030” not only goes against the country’s constitution but also shatters any illusions that he ever respected democracy. A situation now exists marked by heightened awareness and willingness among the masses to fight back, while also lacking the confidence and political tools to do so.
The point made by Che Guevara that “Cruel leaders are replaced only to have new leaders turn cruel” describes the reality in Zimbabwe along with other countries in the post colonial world. The failure to overthrow capitalism has birthed fertile ground for political turmoil and oppression.
Mnangagwa steps up repression
Since coming to power in 2017 Mnangagwa worked overtime to brutally crush all opposition. He used the police and courts to gag the media while splashing lavish gifts to cronies in his patronage network in the same way that Mugabe did. The attacks that he sanctioned against activists, journalists and lawyers add to the myriad of factors that currently exist that could potentially provide the spark that might ignite an uprising to topple the dictator.
Many Zimbabweans rightly feel that the country is still in the same place it was when Robert Mugabe was booted out of the presidential office almost a decade ago. In a poll taken in 2024 at least 60% of people living in Zimbabwe described their living conditions as “quite bad” because they had little or no income, and struggled to access food, healthcare, and water. Therefore things have not improved since the 2017 coup. Instead, the economic situation is deteriorating.
While the bigwigs in ZANU PF have been looting public funds, the average person is forced to navigate scarcities of basic necessities along with rising prices, cash and fuel shortages, and rotting public infrastructure; frequent cuts to electricity and water supply. Zimbabweans aren’t facing a cost of living crisis; they face a severe cost of survival crisis. Most families have to rely on money sent by relatives living abroad for survival. By the end of 2024 $2.5 billion had been sent to recipients in Zimbabwe from Zimbabweans living in other countries.
Despite ZANU PF using control of all the arms of the state (police, military, courts) – its control is not stable because of the ever present potential for uprisings. Although both the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) parties did not run on an anti-capitalist program, they were, however, able to galvanise support from the masses and presented the strongest electoral challenge to ZANU-PF. Even after these parties crumbled, Zimbabweans have continued to fight against the ruling party.
Working class steps up
Over the last 10 years teachers and nurses along with other public sector workers have been fighting hard to preserve their jobs, wages and calling for improved working conditions. In 2025 alone, lecturers were on strike for more than 100 days for higher wages. Teachers across the country also went on strike with similar demands. In particular, they have been fighting for a return to the $540 a month wages that public sector workers were receiving before 2018 as opposed to the less than $100 slavery wages they receive currently. Public sector workers have repeatedly chosen to down tools in protest to the exploitative conditions that they are forced to work under so much that It is impossible to count every single demonstration or strike against ZANU PF in the last 10 years. The masses want justice for the abuse experienced at the hands of ZANU PF.
Public sector workers have been at the forefront of the organised workers’ movement in Zimbabwe for at least 2 decades because other sectors of the economy have since collapsed. This does not mean that other sections of the working class are not willing to fight.
The majority of the workforce has had no choice besides joining the informal sector in order to earn enough to make a living. The current legal framework does not empower unions to defend workers from restructurings that lead to lower wages and layoffs. As a result the formal sector is virtually non-existent given the mass retrenchments that have taken place over the last two decades amid factory closures. At least 40% of the population is under the age of 14, and 50% is between the ages of 15 and 64, meaning that most of the population does not have prospects for a stable job which would guarantee a reliable access to income either currently or in the future.
The anti Mnangagwa demonstrations on March 31 and October 17 2025 were not successful because of fears of retaliation from the police and also because they were not convinced that those leading the demos offered an alternative to ZANU PF internal conflicts. Nevertheless, both the calls resonated with the mood among many working class people who are desperate for a change.
The situation calls for a mass uprising that is completely independent and against the ruling party, aims to build on the heroic struggles of the teachers, lecturers, doctors and nurses in a way that is open to students and the unemployed people. Such an uprising is necessary to defend democracy, to dismantle the patronage networks that sustain ZANU PF.