MNANGAGWA WANTS TO RULE FOREVER WHILE PRETENDING TO BE A CONSTITUTIONALIST
Zanu PF is once again planning to change the laws of the country just to please one man. President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who is already in his second and final term, is now trying to stay in power beyond 2028. His allies want to use the upcoming Zanu PF conference in Mutare in October to push a new resolution to change the constitution. This will allow Mnangagwa to rule until 2030 or longer.
This is not the first time Zanu PF has done this. At the last conference in Bulawayo, they passed a resolution to extend Mnangagwa’s term from 2028 to 2030. Now they want to go even further and change the national constitution itself. This is being led by Zanu PF legal secretary Patrick Chinamasa and Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi. They were tasked with finding a legal way to make the Bulawayo resolution happen.
At first, Chinamasa was against the idea. But now he supports it. The reason? He is close to businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei. Tagwirei wants to be in the Zanu PF Central Committee and is planning to succeed Mnangagwa in the future. He is a strong Mnangagwa supporter and is now pushing for him to stay in power longer.
Mnangagwa continues to deny that he wants to stay in power. He says he is a constitutionalist. But his friends are the ones doing the talking and the pushing, with his full support. It is clear he is the one behind the scenes. This is very ironic, because he came to power through a military coup in 2017, with the help of Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, who was the top army general. Now he wants to stop Chiwenga from taking over by changing the rules of the game.
Even worse, Local Government Minister Daniel Garwe said there will be no elections in 2028. This is a clear violation of the constitution, which says elections must be held every five years. Garwe says the Zanu PF conference in Mutare will change the constitution to allow elections in 2030 instead. All 10 Zanu PF provinces are being told to support this move.
Lawyers have warned that using parliament to delay elections is the same as a coup against the constitution. The only legal way to change presidential term limits is through a national referendum. But Zanu PF is afraid of doing that. They fear that the people will reject Mnangagwa in a vote, so they want to use parliament instead to sneak in the change.
The plan is simple. Keep Mnangagwa in power. Block Chiwenga. Avoid the people’s voice. And protect the few elites who are making money through their connection to power. The upcoming conference in Mutare, to be held from 13 to 18 October, is the latest move in this dangerous game.
Garwe even told The Herald that resolution number one from last year’s conference must be implemented. That resolution said Mnangagwa must remain in power until 2030 and beyond. Now he says the party must make constitutional changes to make this happen.
Garwe said the President is a constitutionalist, and that Zanu PF must change the constitution so that he can remain legal in his rule. This is twisted logic. If Mnangagwa truly respected the constitution, he would not let his party change it for personal benefit.
This is a clear sign that Zimbabwe is going backwards. Instead of democracy, we are watching dictatorship grow stronger. The people of Zimbabwe must not be fooled. The future of our country cannot be decided by a small group of politicians meeting in Mutare. The power belongs to the people, not to a few men trying to stay in office forever. We must resist this new attempt to destroy our democracy.