BULAWAYO – Zanu PF has passed a resolution to allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his term of office up to 2030, but the party’s legal secretary said the president rejected the proposal.
The position was announced to an ecstatic auditorium by party secretary for legal affairs Patrick Chinamasa at the ongoing Zanu PF Annual People’s Conference in Bulawayo on Saturday.
Mnangagwa’s maximum two terms prescribed by the constitution mean he cannot run for office again when his current term expires in 2028.
In a culmination of intense lobbying by ardent Mnangagwa followers within the party, Chinamasa said Zanu PF has resolved that “…the President and first secretary of Zanu PF, His Excellency, Cde Dr Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term of office as President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and first secretary of Zanu PF be extended beyond 2028 to 2030”.
The resolution added: “That the party and government set in motion the necessary amendments to the national Constitution so as to give effect to these resolutions.”
Chinamasa was however quick to distance Mnangagwa from the controversial party position, telling delegates that the 82-year-old had no plans to serve beyond what is prescribed by the national constitution.
The resolution “will not to anywhere,” Chinamasa said.
He explained: “I understand clearly the motivation behind the resolution. We have scored great achievements in a very short time under the leadership of the president. I understand the motivation is that these achievements should continue. Our department was being asked the question: ‘Is it legally possible (to extend Mnangagwa’s term)?’ The short answer is that yes it’s legally possible but to achieve it we would need two seperate constitutional amendments.
“The first amendment would be to remove the presidential term limits, the second amendment would be to remove the disability that the constitution places on the president to serve beyond 2028. The constitutional bills must be seperate, not in one constitutional bill. And each constitutional bill must be followed by a referendum.”
Chinamasa said he had consulted Mnangagwa on three occasions and he was steadfast in rejecting an extension to his presidency.
“I was granted a meeting in August where I raised the issue. I had to find out what his position is. I was given an answer but I was not satisfied. I asked for a meeting again in mid-September. I was given the same answer that I was given in August. Just to be sure, I called and asked for another meeting which the president granted me on Tuesday. I was given the same answer that I was given in August and in September. Just before I took the podium I whispered in the ear of the president: ‘Does what you told me in the three meetings still stand?’ And he was emphatic, it still stands.
“His Excellency says he is a constitutionalist. He is saying, ‘I will abide by the constitution which limits presidential terms and I have no intention of serving beyond 2028.’ This will come as sad news to you, but please don’t stone the messenger.”
The resolution “cannot be implemented without the express consent and agreement of President Mnangagwa,” Chinamasa said.
“We have our resolution but we must understand as we leave here that it will not go anywhere because the president is emphatic that when 2028 comes he will not serve beyond that date. He is very emphatic that he had a hand in the drafting of this constitution and he cannot be seen nationally, globally to be the first to violate what he put in place.”
It would take effort to convince Mnangagwa’s critics that he indeed means his word.
Responding to the Zanu PF resolution, exiled former cabinet minister and ex-Zanu PF political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere is one of those struggling to believe Mnangagwa will not try to amend the constitution.
“The worst mistake any people can do is to give power to a corrupt and wicked man, because you won’t remove him. From day one, he will find ways to fortify himself so that his past never catches up with him. A man with a lot to lose will never let go…” he posted on X.
