MNANGAGWA WANTS TO STAY IN POWER BEYOND 2028

ZANU PF is planning another dirty political move to keep President Emmerson Mnangagwa in power beyond his legal second term which ends in 2028. Even though the noise about who will take over in 2030 has gone quiet, Mnangagwa’s allies are now secretly pushing to change the constitution again, this time during the party’s upcoming annual conference in Mutare from 13 to 18 October.

Last year, at the Bulawayo conference, they passed a resolution that gave Mnangagwa the option to extend his rule from 2028 to 2030. Now they want to go even further and make this legal by changing the national constitution. This is being pushed by Mnangagwa’s loyalists who are doing everything they can to block Vice President Chiwenga from taking over.

Sources say ZANU PF legal secretary Patrick Chinamasa and Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi were told to find a way to implement the Bulawayo resolution. Chinamasa was once against this, but now supports it because he is close to businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei. Tagwirei is trying to enter the Central Committee so that he can one day take over from Mnangagwa.

Mnangagwa keeps pretending that he is not interested in staying longer. But his people are speaking on his behalf and pushing the agenda with his silent approval. This is the same Mnangagwa who came into power through a military coup in 2017 and now calls himself a constitutionalist.

Daniel Garwe, the Local Government Minister, even said there will be no elections in 2028, which are required by the constitution. He said elections will now happen in 2030 instead. Garwe said all ZANU PF provinces will push a resolution at the Mutare conference to make this official.

But according to Zimbabwe’s constitution, elections must be held every five years. What ZANU PF is trying to do is to change that using parliament, not a referendum. Changing presidential terms needs a referendum, and they are scared of holding one because the people might vote no. If that happens, it becomes a referendum against Mnangagwa himself.

Legal experts say postponing elections using parliament will be a direct attack on the constitution, which is like a coup in disguise. Mnangagwa’s camp knows this, but they want to avoid risking their power.

The conference in Mutare will likely become a platform to push this illegal plan. The aim is to give Mnangagwa more years in power by changing the law. He says he does not want to rule forever, but his people are already making noise to keep him in office.

This is also part of the ongoing succession war inside ZANU PF. Chiwenga, who helped Mnangagwa get into power, is now being sidelined. The President wants to block him and pick someone else to take over one day.

In a recent interview, Garwe told The Herald newspaper that the 10 provinces will push for “resolution number 1” from the Bulawayo conference. That resolution says Mnangagwa must stay as leader until 2030 and beyond. Garwe said they will amend the constitution to make this possible and said, “our President is a constitutionalist,” even though they are the ones trying to break the constitution.

He even said, “the President has a God-ordained vision” and that “we must allow him to finish it.” These kinds of words are now being used to justify killing democracy in Zimbabwe.

This whole plan is proof that ZANU PF does not care about the constitution, elections, or the will of the people. They only care about power. What is happening is dangerous. If they succeed, Zimbabwe will go further down the path of dictatorship. It is time to wake up and resist this illegal plan. The people of Zimbabwe must not allow this to happen. Mnangagwa must respect the constitution and step down when his time ends in 2028. No amount of resolutions will change that.