Former Norton legislator Temba Mliswa on Friday criticised Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga over his speech at the ongoing Zanu-PF National People’s Conference, accusing him of undermining party unity and contradicting President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s development-focused message.

In a post on X responding to Chiwenga’s address, Mliswa said the conference should focus on policy, development and the party’s future rather than revisiting grievances already dealt with through Zanu-PF’s internal structures.

When members assemble for an event as momentous as the 23rd ZANU PF National People's Conference, the expectation is singular and solemn: to articulate policy, to outline programmes, and to chart the developmental trajectory.

It is not, and has never been, a forum for the… pic.twitter.com/pTfzUctOhx

— Sabhuku Temba P. Mliswa (@TembaMliswa) October 16, 2026

He described Chiwenga’s speech as “corrosive” and “discordant with the national mood”, arguing that it raised questions about discipline and coordination within the Presidency.

Mliswa also questioned the role of presidential spokesperson George Charamba, suggesting that if he had drafted speeches that contradicted each other, he had become a threat to government coherence.

Alternatively, he said Chiwenga’s team should be held accountable for allowing the address to be delivered.

Praising Mnangagwa’s speech as “mature, measured and modernist”, Mliswa said its focus on economic consolidation, production and livelihoods reflected the issues Zimbabweans wanted addressed.

He further argued that grievances already handled by the party should not be raised publicly on a platform intended to project unity.

“If one finds himself so irreconcilably at odds with the prevailing order, would not honour demand that he, as a matter of principle, stand down?” Mliswa asked, in an apparent challenge to Chiwenga.

Chiwenga’s speech has drawn renewed attention to the ongoing factional fight within the ruling party.

In a speech at the 23rd Zanu-PF Annual National People’s Conference in Chinhoyi, the retired general questioned whether the party was not going back to the events of 2017, which led to the removal of the late former president Robert Mugabe from power through a coup.

Mliswa, a former Zanu-PF chairman for Mashonaland West who was expelled from the ruling party in February 2015 for indiscipline, has become embroiled in Zanu-PF factionalism, with many observers believing he is being used by Mnangagwa to fight factional battles.