Zimbabwe stands at a perilous constitutional crossroads, and the integrity of its democracy hangs by a thread of silver and the keys to luxury vehicles.
As the National Assembly and Senate prepare to vote on Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 (CAB3), the reports emerging from Harare are nothing short of a moral emergency.
Members of Parliament must realise that the choices they make this week will define their legacies—either as guardians of the 2013 constitution or as architects of its demise.
The reported inducements - allegations of US$50 000 cash payments and Toyota Fortuner vehicles being distributed to secure votes—represent a grotesque betrayal of the public trust.
When a legislator trades their vote for personal gain, they are not merely accepting a gift from a controversial businessman, they are selling the sovereignty of the constituents who stood in line to elect them.
The stakes of CAB3 could not be higher. This bill seeks to dismantle the very pillars of democratic accountability by extending presidential and parliamentary terms until 2030 and, most gallingly, scrapping the direct election of the president in favour of a parliamentary vote.
To vote for such measures is to tell the Zimbabwean people that their "one-man-one-vote" struggle was in vain.
It is an attempt to retreat into a winner-takes-all era of personal rule that the 2013 constitution was specifically designed to prevent.
Furthermore, the legal implications are clear. Legal experts have rightly noted that accepting these rewards violates the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act and the Privileges, Immunities and Powers of Parliament Act, which explicitly prohibit receiving compensation for the promotion of a bill.
To the MPs currently weighing these inducements: look beyond the immediate lure of US$10 000 or a new car.
Consider the warnings of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who cautioned against "beating a drum with an axe while sitting on a spear."
History will not remember what you drove, but it will remember whether you stood with the truth or helped dismantle the constitutional guardianship of the country.
Zimbabwe is not for sale. Your souls should not be either. We urge every MP to vote their conscience, uphold their oath of office, and remember that they serve the people, not the highest bidder.
Do not let the midwives of this transition deliver a stillborn democracy.
For President Emmerson Mnangagwa it is not too late to do what is best for Zimbabweans and that is sticking to constitutionalism.