ZANU PF’S TERM LIMIT TRICK IS A DANGEROUS LIE

The idea that Zanu PF officials and their legal friends are trying to sell to the nation is one of the biggest lies we have ever seen in our politics. They now claim that the Zimbabwe constitution only says a president must serve two terms, but the length of each term can be changed. They say a term does not have to be five years. They want people to believe that a president can stay in power until 2030 without a referendum. This idea is not only wrong, but it is also shocking. It has no truth in it and no link to what our constitution really says. It is an insult to every Zimbabwean who voted for a new constitution in 2013.

Term limits were put in our constitution for a clear reason. They were meant to stop one person from having too much power. They were meant to stop another Mugabe situation. They were also meant to make sure Zimbabwe has peaceful transfers of power and real elections every five years. This was a promise to the people after the long, painful years of Mugabe’s rule. It was also a response to the coup of 2017 that brought Emmerson Mnangagwa into power. Term limits were meant to save the country from exactly this kind of abuse of power.

Our constitution is very clear. A president can only serve two five year terms. This is written in Sections 91 and 95. These sections do not say a term can be changed or stretched. They do not allow a president to stay longer because he wants to. If anyone wants to change term limits, they must go to a referendum. And even then, the change cannot help the current president. The rule does not work backwards. Mugabe only stayed on after 2013 because he was already in office when the new constitution came in. That point was argued heavily in both 2000 and 2013.

Today, Zanu PF leaders and their political consultants want to pretend there is a gap in the law. They call it a legal lacuna, a loophole. They say the constitution forgot to fix the length of each term. This argument is not only weak, it is dishonest. If we look at the background of how the constitution was written, the intention of the writers, and the whole purpose of a constitutional democracy, it is clear that every term is five years and nothing else. The idea of flexible terms is fake. It is created to protect Mnangagwa and nothing more.

This idea was first pushed into the public by Professor Jonathan Moyo, but Zanu PF leaders had already been talking about it behind closed doors. Even inside Zanu PF, people are not united on this. Mnangagwa and those close to him are supporting this idea because it helps him hold on to power. But Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and his supporters do not want it. Some people inside the party know this is wrong. Patrick Chinamasa even said at the last Zanu PF conference that if Mnangagwa wants 2030, he must have two national referendums. One to remove term limits and another to allow him to benefit from the change.

Mnangagwa always says he respects the constitution. This is strange because he first took power through a coup. Now he acts as if he is clean, but in the background he pushes others to do the dirty work. He knows this plan is illegal. He knows it goes against constitutional values. But like many authoritarian leaders in Africa, he wants to change the rules so he can stay longer.

There is nothing new here. Across Africa, this behaviour has caused unrest, conflict and even coups. It destroys trust. It destroys peace. It destroys nations. Zimbabwe cannot afford this. Trying to change term limits through tricks is dangerous, selfish and despotic.