PANIC GRIPS STATE MEDIA AS ZBC AND STAR FM SCRUB CHIWENGA’S EXPLOSIVE SPEECH LASHING OUT AT MNANGAGWA
HARARE — State-owned broadcasters in Zimbabwe have removed video footage and online posts of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s address to the ruling Zanu PF party’s annual conference after he questioned whether the party was repeating past mistakes.
The speech was delivered on Friday, 16 October 2026, at the 23rd Zanu PF National People’s Conference in Chinhoyi, Mashonaland West Province.
Chiwenga spoke before inviting President Emmerson Mnangagwa to address delegates as guest of honour.
According to independent media outlets that monitored state platforms, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) and its radio station Star FM initially posted material related to the address.
Star FM restricted comments on a summary post and later deleted the video. ZBC followed by removing the footage from its platforms.
In the address, Chiwenga referred to the founding of the “Second Republic” after the 2017 events that removed the late Robert Mugabe.
“Let us not forget that the Second Republic was founded on the pursuit of renewal, reform and a results-based governance and national development,” he said.
He continued in Shona: “Chii chakaita kuti 2nd Republic ivepo? Kwaive kugadzirisa zvakaipa zvanga zvichiitika mumashure, hatisi kudzokorora here kuita zvakambotadzwa?” (“What caused the Second Republic to come into existence? It was to correct the bad things that were happening in the past. Are we not repeating the same mistakes?”)
Chiwenga called for “a brutal and honest self-appraisal.”
He asked whether party resolutions truly came from the people, whether conferences captured grassroots voices, and whether leaders understood citizens’ aspirations. “Our party belongs to the people, never to individuals,” he said. “We must listen to them attentively; for they are the ones who entrusted us with this mandate.”
The conference theme was “From Resolutions to Results: Consolidating Economic Development and Deepening Economic Empowerment Towards Vision 2030.”
Chiwenga linked the discussion to the historic Chinhoyi Battle of 1966 and the values of the liberation struggle.
Independent reports described the removal of the footage as a response to the content of the speech, which some interpreted as a pointed reference to internal party dynamics and efforts related to leadership succession and constitutional matters.
State media had initially focused coverage on other elements of the address, such as references to liberation war history, before pulling the material.
Neither ZBC nor government officials issued an immediate public explanation for the deletions. The speech continued to circulate widely on social media and independent platforms.
The conference ended at the weekend.