Colonel Miniyothabo Baloyi, the wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, probably intended to explain military tradition when she reminded Zimbabweans that marrying a powerful man does not automatically transfer his rank to his wife. But buried inside that simple explanation is a political lesson that Zimbabwe desperately needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Power is not sexually transmitted. Neither should it be politically inherited, borrowed, extended or manufactured through convenient changes to the Constitution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baloyi says that despite being married to Chiwenga, a former commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces and now Vice President, she remains a Colonel. When she encounters officers who outrank her, she salutes them. Her husband’s political and military history does not suddenly make her a General.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is exactly how institutions are supposed to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rank belongs to an office. Authority has defined limits. Personal relationships do not erase institutional rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If only ZANU PF treated the Constitution with the same discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zimbabwe’s biggest political problem today is the growing belief among those occupying powerful offices that authority somehow belongs to them personally. Instead of political leaders serving within constitutional limits and leaving when their mandates expire, we increasingly see attempts to adjust the system around the ambitions of individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is why the CAB3 controversy matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The argument against Constitutional Amendment No. 3 has never simply been about disliking President Emmerson Mnangagwa. It is about rejecting the dangerous idea that the rules governing political power can be rearranged when those rules become inconvenient to the people currently benefiting from power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baloyi’s military example exposes the contradiction beautifully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imagine if a Colonel decided that because she had spent decades serving the military, she deserved to become a General without following the established system. The military establishment would reject such behaviour immediately because discipline depends on respecting institutional boundaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet in politics, Zimbabweans are expected to accept arguments that leaders need additional years because they require more time to complete their programmes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why should constitutional discipline be weaker than military discipline?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mnangagwa has already had years at the centre of state power. ZANU PF has governed Zimbabwe since independence. The country cannot continuously be told that another political extension is necessary before development can finally arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hospitals do not need extended political terms to obtain medicines. Councils do not need seven-year mandates to collect rubbish. Young Zimbabweans do not need politicians protected from regular electoral accountability. They need jobs, functioning institutions, economic opportunity and leadership that understands that public office is temporary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is where Baloyi’s remarks become unintentionally powerful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She explained that during the funeral of Brigadier General Chaminuka she stood alongside other officers as a Colonel. She did not demand special treatment because she was married to the Vice President. She understood that the institution was bigger than her marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zimbabwe’s politicians need precisely that humility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The presidency must be bigger than Mnangagwa. Parliament must be bigger than ZANU PF. And the Constitution must be bigger than every politician currently occupying office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nobody’s liberation credentials should grant permanent authority. Nobody’s political connections should place them above constitutional accountability. Nobody should be able to convert yesterday’s contribution to Zimbabwe into tomorrow’s entitlement to rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is particularly important when ZANU PF constantly invokes the liberation struggle to justify its political dominance. Zimbabwe’s liberation was supposedly fought so that citizens could determine who governs them. That principle becomes meaningless if the people’s democratic power can gradually be reduced whenever it threatens political interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is therefore something Zimbabwe’s ruling elite can learn from the Colonel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If military seniority cannot be transmitted through marriage, political legitimacy cannot be transmitted through party structures either. It must come from citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A soldier salutes the rank because the institution determines authority. In a democracy, politicians must similarly salute the Constitution because the people are sovereign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zimbabwe does not need leaders who redesign institutions around themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It needs leaders disciplined enough to understand where their power ends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colonel Baloyi understands that she can be married to one of Zimbabwe’s most powerful men and still remain a Colonel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The uncomfortable question is whether Zimbabwe’s political leaders understand that they can be powerful today and still be required to leave tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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