ZANU PF is pulling out all the stops in its attempt to stage what is, in essence, a constitutional coup.
Last month, the ruling party endorsed Resolution No 1 at its annual people’s conference in Mutare — a resolution calling for President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term to be extended by two years to 2030.
This was not new.
The same push surfaced at the previous conference in Bulawayo.
What was once whispered is now being declared openly, loudly and with worrying confidence.
Two weeks ago, Zanu PF ministers and Members of Parliament took their celebration straight into Parliament, dancing and singing that “the job had been done”.
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The message was unmistakable: the machinery to override the Constitution is in motion, and the ruling elite believes the outcome is guaranteed.
In recent days, senior figures have become even more brazen, openly urging the nation to support Mnangagwa’s term extension.
The co-ordination is too tight, the messaging too rehearsed and the assertiveness too bold for this to be a fringe campaign.
It has the hallmarks of a party-wide, centrally sanctioned project.
Mnangagwa, of course, insists he does not want a third term.
He has said this before — repeatedly.
Speaking to Zimbabweans in China in September last year, he declared: “I am a constitutionalist. I follow the Constitution to the letter. I am among those who wrote the Constitution.”
Even earlier, in 2018, he reiterated that he would step down after serving two terms.
Yet today, his party is busy shredding the very Constitution he claims to revere.
And the President has remained conspicuously silent.
Silence, in politics, is never neutral.
When a leader genuinely opposes something, they say so clearly, consistently and loudly — particularly when their own party is campaigning aggressively for it.
Instead, Mnangagwa has chosen quiet observation while Zanu PF structures marshal the nation toward a constitutional rewrite tailored for one man.
The contradiction is now impossible to ignore.
Either the President is unwilling to confront his lieutenants, or — the more likely conclusion — he quietly supports the plan and is simply letting the foot soldiers take the heat.
For all his claims to be a “constitutional adherent”, Mnangagwa’s continued silence is speaking louder than all his previous declarations.
It suggests endorsement.
It signals consent.
It tells the nation that he sees the advantages, but wishes to avoid the political backlash of openly championing the cause.
In 2013, Zimbabweans across political divides agreed on a new Constitution that was hailed as a progressive turning point — a document crafted to curb the excesses of past leaders, protect the nation from authoritarian relapse, and guarantee predictable political transitions.
Today, Zanu PF is prepared to tear that agreement apart for the benefit of one man.
Not for the nation. Not for democracy. And certainly not for the rule of law.
This assault on the Constitution is not about governance.
It is about power — who holds it, how long they hold it and how far a ruling party is willing to go to preserve it.
Zimbabwe has been down this road before, and the consequences are well documented: weakened institutions, deepened instability and a nation held hostage by political ambition.
Mnangagwa can stop this.
He can say no clearly, forcefully and decisively.
But as long as he chooses silent complicity, Zimbabweans can only conclude that he wants the extension just as much as those singing for it.
The Constitution does not belong to Zanu PF.
It does not belong to the President.
It belongs to the people.
And the people must defend it.