HARARE – Self-exiled former cabinet minister and ex-Zanu PF political commissar Saviour Kasukuwere has called on Zimbabweans to resist President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s apparent bid for an unconstitutional third term.
This appeal comes amid growing public support from Zanu PF provincial chairs, women, and youth groups for the 81-year-old politician, who has been a top government official since Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980, to exceed the country’s two-term limit.
Mnangagwa, the only surviving top official from the late President Robert Mugabe’s 1980 cabinet, has never left the government. Kasukuwere, who was disqualified from the 2023 presidential race due to legal challenges from his opponents, strongly opposes Mnangagwa’s attempt to bypass constitutional laws.
On Twitter, Kasukuwere posted: “The ill-fated 2030 mobilisation by factional interests within Zanu PF must be resisted. The current government is yet to complete a year in its second term of office. ED was sworn in for the second and last term on the 4th of September 2023. To imagine that his minions are already running around motivating for a third term is careless and dangerous.”
Recently, President Mnangagwa stated at a rally in Manicaland that he would not seek a third term, expressing his desire to “go and rest.” However, this has sparked a coordinated campaign among Zanu PF supporters for him to remain in power. Proponents of this campaign argue that his continued leadership is necessary to achieve Vision 2030, Mnangagwa’s plan to transform Zimbabwe into an upper-middle-income economy by 2030.
Kasukuwere has voiced his strong objections: “This will require that we rise up and defend the Constitution of Zimbabwe from this calculated assault. Politicians, the Clergy, veterans of the struggle, peasants, business leaders, youths, women, and all citizens, this is the time to say NO to this madness.”
He warned that efforts are underway to drum up support for Mnangagwa’s extended term, often disguised as community engagements. Kasukuwere believes this campaign is secretly orchestrated by Mnangagwa himself to appear as a spontaneous public demand.
“The multiple voices within the party are sending different signals and sadly, it appears ED is very much behind these shenanigans, typical modus operandi, deny, deny then yield to the people’s demands. The country therefore has to stop this madness before the future of our children is personalized. We have to join hands and take a stand against this crude and divisive rhetoric,” he added.
Kasukuwere’s call to action aims to mobilize a broad coalition of Zimbabweans to uphold the constitution and prevent Mnangagwa from securing an unconstitutional third term.