ZIMBABWE’S national chiefs council has thrown its weight behind Zanu PF’s controversial 2030 resolution to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tenure, with council president Chief Mtshane Khumalo declaring that traditional leaders have no grounds to oppose the ruling party’s push to keep the president in power beyond constitutional limits.
Speaking to the Zimbabwe Independent on the sidelines of the annual chiefs’ conference this week, Khumalo distanced the traditional leadership from any resistance to the ruling party’s plan.
“The 2030 issue is not derived from chiefs; it is from the ruling party Zanu PF itself,” Khumalo said. “So, if Zanu PF decided that, then the chiefs have nothing else to do, but to follow what the ruling government would have decided.”
Zanu PF’s 2030 resolution, widely seen as a bid to extend Mnangagwa’s rule, has ignited legal and political debate, with constitutional lawyers and opposition figures warning it signals an attempt to subvert term limits enshrined in the constitution.
Yet as the party pushes the agenda, its courtship of traditional leaders has intensified. Chiefs reportedly received US$1 500 each in cash, along with high-end Samsung and iPhone handsets worth about US$1 000.
The gifts came days after Mnangagwa’s donation of heifers to chiefs and headmen in Masvingo under the Presidential Livestock Empowerment Programme, a gesture critics say is part of a broader campaign to secure loyalty ahead of 2030.
Khumalo rejected suggestions that the gifts amounted to political inducements
“I don’t think the President can buy that support from chiefs. During the conference, the chiefs highlighted various positives with regard to the developmental programmes happening in their communities,” he said, while raising concerns over the slow release of devolution funds.
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Opening the conference, Mnangagwa praised traditional leaders for their “unwavering and gallant support” for his administration and Zanu PF, promising more incentives.
“With regards to your conditions of services, the administration remains committed to improving your remunerations,” he said.
“The provision of electricity, water, and sanitation facilities, as well as the construction of access roads, among other facilities is ongoing. In respect of medical aid and funeral insurance, my government is working, together with partners and service providers, to put in place comprehensive policy packages.
“To ensure your mobility and communication, I will be handing over another batch of vehicles and mobile phones to chiefs. More will be distributed as resources permit,” Mnangagwa added.
Political analysts warned that the developments further entrench the ruling party’s politicisation of state institutions.
“The 2030 issue is a constitutional matter. It’s not up to the chiefs to support the 2030 agenda. It’s up to the citizens to decide what they want through referendum. Chiefs have always been at the receiving of dictatorship in Zimbabwe,” political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya said.
“Of course, they can’t interfere with party resolutions, but they can’t make a decision on behalf of their subjects on a constitutional matter.”
