Dear President Emmerson Mnangagwa
I still vividly remember your September 2018 interview with CCN’s Christiane Amanpour in New York where you emphatically stated that you will not overstay your welcome as president of Zimbabwe.
You made those assurances a year after you replaced long serving Robert Mugabe after the 2017 coup.
Mugabe, your predecessor had gained global infamy for overstaying in power and your statements were understood in that context.
You told Amanpour in that interview that you wanted to “embed constitutionalism in Zimbabwe” and that you believe “the past will be left behind.”
You remained consistent even when some sycophants within the ruling Zanu PF started saying you must hang on to power when your term comes to end in 2028.
Last year Zanu PF at its conference in Bulawayo passed a resolution that said the law must be changed so that you stay in office until 2030 despite the fact that the constitution says presidents must serve only two five year terms.
The term limits were introduced in the 2013 constitution and you have boasted publicly that you were instrumental in the enactment of this supreme law that was overwhelmingly endorsed by Zimbabweans.
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Since the passing of that infamous 2030 resolution you have insisted, in no less than five occasions, which you will be not stay more than a day after your mandate ends because you are a constitutionalist.
You even said you will persuade the “persuaders” that it was not worth it mutilating the constitution. Your stance gave Zimbabweans some hope that for once they had a leader at State House, who was ready to put people first.
However, developments of the past weeks have caused me great distress and I am now very worried about the future of my country.
The Zanu PF annual conference held in Mutare this month not only resolved to resuscitate the infamous Resolution number one from the Bulawayo conference, but agreed that the government must be instructed to put in place the legal provisions to extend your term by two years.
At the conference you appeared to have lost your appetite to stop the “persuaders” from their destructive path.
In fact, you Mr President you seemed to encourage them when you said every party member would be bound by the resolutions, a statement which appeared to be a direct address to your deputy who has out rightly rejected the attempts to personalise Vision 2030.
As he rightly put it, those charged with the huge responsibility of leading this country today “are the alpha and the omega of Zimbabwe’s journey.”
Your duty that you must discharge with humility is “to carry forward the torch” passed to you “by those who gave everything without expectation of reward.”
It is prudent Mr President that you continue to show exemplary leadership and shun the temptation to overstay your welcome.
It has become clear that those who are singing the loudest about the 2030 agenda such as Owen Mudha Ncube, Daniel Garwe, Ziyambi Ziyambi and John Paradza are doing it for selfish reasons and not for the love of the ordinary Zimbabweans.
I would like to persuade you to listen to the voice of the people, which in 2017 you equated to the voice of God.
Mr President, I implore you to listen to the comrades you shared the trenches with in the war of liberation such as Vice President Constantino Chiwenga and not the mafikizolos that have put your legacy at stake by pushing politics of selling out.
The truth is that Zimbabweans today are preoccupied about having a functioning country with proper access to health care, food, water and all the basics that characterise a modern society.
Children deserve to be in schools building a future for themselves, but as we speak the majority are being trapped in a vicious cycle of drugs that is being fuelled by poverty and even devious ways of some people that have become synonymous with the 2030 agenda.
The point I am trying to put across Mr President is that your term extension, besides falling foul of the constitution that you took an oath to protect, does not feature anywhere close to the top priorities for a country in crisis like Zimbabwe.
It is not too late to act to preserve your legacy Mr President.
You are better using your remaining two years at State House pursuing initiatives that will make Zimbabweans remember you as a leader, who put them on a pedestal for greatness, not a power hungry autocrat who did everything he promised he would not do when in power.
Forever Patriotic.
