Zanu PF has explicitly instructed its legislators that they will be provided with talking notes when the highly controversial Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3 (CAB3) is finally tabled in Parliament for debate.
This move comes as a faction loyal to President Emmerson Mnangagwa pulls out all the stops in its concerted efforts to block his deputy, Constantino Chiwenga , from the presidential succession race.
The ruling party, which remains deeply divided between factions backing Mnangagwa and those loyal to Chiwenga, held a high-stakes caucus meeting for its MPs in Harare last Wednesday, The Standard has established.
During this meeting, a carrot and stick tactic was brazenly employed to ensure total compliance with the executive's agenda.
The caucus meeting reportedly began in an awkward fashion. Party chief whip Pupurai Togarepi appeared to forget the standard opening rituals, including the opening prayer and the singing of the national anthem.
He had to be reminded of the programme by Zanu PF director Kizito Kuchekwa.
Once the meeting was underway, Togarepi bypassed formalities to issue a stern warning to all party MPs.
He told the bemused MPs that the party functions through a strict whipping system where "no-one is allowed to think, proffer their own opinions or chant their own slogans, except parrot the position of the party."
Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi immediately reinforced this hardline stance, informing the gathered MPs that they were mistaken if they believed they would actually cast a traditional vote on the bill.
According to one MP who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Ziyambi told the caucus that the MPs they would not be allowed to vote according to their conscience.
“He said if we think we will vote, we were mistaken,” the MP said. “We won't vote, he will divide the August house and mark the register of those who come in.”
The minister reportedly insisted that the register would simply circulate, and "only their attendance becomes their vote."
He allegedly added that any MPs who thought they would be voting was "fooling ourselves."
The proposed CAB3 legislation contains several radical shifts in Zimbabwean governance.
It seeks to extend Mnangagwa’s tenure by two years, transfer the power to elect the president from the general public to Parliament, and remove the military’s role in protecting the constitution.
It also proposes to scrap the Zimbabwe Gender Commission and allow traditional leaders to engage in politics.
The bill is currently before Parliament and must undergo three readings before being passed to the president for his signature.
To ensure the readings go according to plan, Ziyambi has set draconian ground rules for the debate stage.
He informed MPs that debate would be limited to groups of three, and his office would provide "a written argument for everyone to follow."
He said officials from the Ministry of Justice would "teach" the MPs how to debate.
One MP noted: “They will write for us what we should say for uniformity. In this case, none of us will give personal opinions.”
Ziyambi has remained adamant that there will be no secret ballot, a position he later reiterated to Mnangagwa during a party youth meeting.
The push for a secret ballot, championed by opposition leader Douglas Mwonzora, was dismissed by Togarepi as "politically naïve."
Togarepi accused the opposition of "selective amnesia," noting that a secret ballot was not used for Amendment Number 2.
However, dissenting voices within Zanu PF have challenged this logic.
One MP, who referred to Ziyambi as "top lawyer," accused the minister of being "deliberately ignorant and mischievous."
The MP argued that while Amendment 2 did not require a secret ballot because party principals had agreed on the changes, CAB3 is different because "there are a lot of dissenting voices" and the issue should be settled by secret vote.
The legal arguments within the rulingparty have become increasingly heated.
Critics point to the Supreme Court case involving Jonathan Moyo and Lovemore Moyo, where the court ruled that a secret ballot was necessary for electing the speaker of Parliament.
Critics within the caucus also slammed Ziyambi’s logic that because Parliament can impeach a president, it should also have the power to appoint one.
One disgruntled MP argued that the power to impeach was delegated by the people through a referendum, whereas no such mandate exists for CAB3.
“The mandate should come from the people,” the MP insisted, adding that Ziyambi was essentially saying "we don't want a referendum where the people will vote and we don't want the MPs to vote.”
The bill has raised serious ethical concerns regarding conflicts of interest. Critics argue that the president, the Justice minister, and the attorney-general are all direct beneficiaries of the amendments they are proposing.
"There have been no checks and balances," one MP lamented, adding that the "constitution is designed with a moral expectation of governance, not what we are seeing here with CAB3."
The caucus meeting concluded with a final act of the "carrot" tactic as each MP was given US$500 and 100 litres of fuel.
Observers noted that this was a significant departure from previous meetings where "not even food was served."
They said this showed the desperation of the Mnangagwa faction to secure total loyalty in its fight to sideline Chiwenga and rewrite the country’s supreme law.