Mugabe vows regime change will never succeed in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe on Friday vowed that regime change will never succeed in Zimbabwe as he rallied his party members to remain united and fight for national development.

Addressing members attending the ruling Zanu-PF party's annual conference in the central town of Masvingo, Mugabe, who is also the party's first secretary, said Zanu-PF remained strong despite the current infighting and various machinations by local opposition parties and hostile Western countries.

"The party remains strong. There is no doubt about it," Mugabe said. "Countries that have been hostile to us, and have all this time expected that there shall be regime change have failed to achieve that. There has not been regime change and there shall not be regime change," he added.

The veteran president, who has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 and turns 94 next February, implored party members to stop infighting and unite, and for youths to be disciplined and follow party procedures.

He lamented that some party youths had become undisciplined.

"There has been creeping into our party a new culture of indiscipline, a new culture of disrespect, they don't have respect and there is even contempt and arrogance," he said.

He also censured senior party members who use social and private media to air political grievances, saying the annual conference was one important platform that could be used to settle grievances.

"As a party, we must always speak with one voice," Mugabe said.

He also berated local opposition parties for lacking ideas on how to transform the country.

Mugabe, who has been endorsed as the party's presidential candidate for the 2018 elections when he will be 94, spoke as his party is riddled by serious infighting by factions vying to succeed him.

One of the factions is reportedly led by his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa and another one, called G-40, is alleged to have the backing of Mugabe's wife, Grace.

Both factions deny the claims. Endit