It is not difficult to figure out who constitutes this clique.
The chaotic state Zimbabwe is now in is good for the people who control the state machinery which they use to acquire state assets for their personal enrichment. These assets may be farms (including conservancies), companies or mines. They are wringing shares from foreign firms.
It is now public knowledge some members of this clique literally own little towns; they control all the hotels, public facilities and have bludgeoned their way into all major businesses in the towns.
If the status quo changes, they are afraid they would lose all this, so they have to block change at any cost.
The past two years in which the country had been ruled under the government of national unity had brought some relief to the country but this breather is coming to an end throwing the country back to the years of state-sanctioned mayhem.
The violence only helps to prove that the country is not ready for an election any time soon. The wounds of the past have not healed and they are being aggravated again. Zimbabweans are crying out for peace and it is incumbent upon those who purport to lead the country to fulfil their side of the social contract that they swore to on taking public office.
Those who have agreed to be used by this cabal of opportunists to perpetrate violence must realise that, in the end, there is nothing in it for them.
They may be getting some crumbs now in the form of nightly payouts and the alcohol and drugs that go with it but eventually they will have little to show for their effort.
And how do the police, in their selective application of law, hope to deal with the explosive frustration that is simmering under the surface?
Cry, the beloved country.