Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa has repeatedly stated that he is not going to contest a third term because he is a constitutionalist. But jingles on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation television seem to tell a different story. They are all in praise of Baba Mnangagwa and his achievements. Nothing to really worry about at face value, but the underlying tone is that he should stay on to finish the development projects that he started.
By Charles Rukuni
Although the party said in one of its resolutions .. “that the President and First Secretary of ZANU-PF, His Excellency, Cde Dr ED Mnangagwa’s term of office as President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and First Secretary of Zanu-PF be extended beyond 2028 to 2030”, Mnangagwa is very worried. Latest pictures show that he has lost a few ounces, and a little sparkle, since the annual conference.
Ruling party legal secretary Patrick Chinamasa may have watered down the real reason why Mnangagwa decided not to contest a third term or extend his current term to 2030.
Chinamasa said immediately after the conference had passed a resolution to extend Mnangagwa’s term: “I understand clearly the motivation behind the resolution. We have scored great achievements in a very short space of time under the leadership of His Excellency the President. So, I understand the motivation that these achievements must continue….
“However, our department was being asked if it is legally possible and the short answer I gave is that yes it is legally possible but to achieve it we will need two separate constitutional amendments, one amendment to remove the presidential term that is fixed in the constitution, the next constitutional amendment should be to remove the disability that the constitution places on His Excellency to serve beyond 2028. The constitutional bills must be separate and each bill must be followed by a referendum……
“I thought on this referendum I should seek instructions from His Excellency the President to find out what his position is. I was given an answer but I was not satisfied. I asked again for a meeting in mid-September and I was given the same answer. I asked for another meeting on Tuesday and I was given the same answer. He said he is a constitutionalist and will abide by the Constitution which limits presidential terms and I have no intention of serving beyond 2028…..
“Of all the resolutions, this is the one that cannot be implemented without the express consent and agreement of President Emmerson Mnangagwa. It should be understood that this resolution will not proceed any further.”
Mnangagwa was told point blank at the party’s central committee meeting, three days earlier, that he should not go the Mugabe way. He has to leave at the end of his term to allow for smooth succession.
Mugabe ruled the country for 37 years, the first seven as Prime Minister and 30 as President. He was removed by the military in a “coup” that was not officially a coup as he finally resigned from office five days after the military takeover.
The military, then led by Constantino Chiwenga as commander of the Defence Forces, warned Mugabe and his lieutenants on 13 November that they were not happy with the way the ruling party and the country were being run.
“It is with humility and a heavy heart that we come before you to pronounce the indisputable reality that there is instability in ZANU-PF today and as a result anxiety in the country at large,” Chiwenga said.
“It is pertinent to restate that the Zimbabwe Defence Forces remain the major stockholder in respect to the gains of the liberation struggle and when these are threatened we are obliged to take corrective measures.
“Clearly, ZANU-PF having mainly been the only party that has ruled this country since Independence, it had become a household name to most Zimbabweans across the political divide. Therefore, it is a common cause that any instability within the party naturally impacts on their social, political and economic lives, accordingly, there is distress, trepidation and despondence within the nation.
“Our peace-loving people who have stood by their government and endured some of the most trying social and economic conditions ever experienced are extremely disturbed by what is happening within the ranks of the national revolutionary party. What is obtained in the revolutionary party is a direct result of the machinations of counter-revolutionaries who have infiltrated the party and whose agenda is to destroy it from within…..
“It is our strong and deeply considered position that if drastic action is not taken immediately, our beloved country Zimbabwe is definitely headed to becoming a neo-colony again. The current purging and cleansing process in ZANU-PF which so far is targeting mostly members associated with our liberation history is a serious cause for concern to us in the Defence Forces.
“As a result of squabbling within the ranks of ZANU-PF, there has been no meaningful development in the country for the past five years. The resultant economic impasse has ushered in more challenges to the Zimbabwean populace such as cash shortages and rising commodity prices……
“Therefore, the current shenanigans by people who do not share the same liberation history of ZANU-PF party are not a surprise to us.…..We must remind those behind the current treacherous shenanigans that when it comes to matters of protecting our revolution, the military will not hesitate to step in. ZANU-PF’s standing political virtues are a product of faithful adherence to the founding values, decorum, discipline and revolutionary protocol in the ruling Party. Party orders were strictly adhered to and whatever differences existed, they were resolved amicably and in the ruling Party’s closet.
“Unfortunately since the turn of 2015, ZANU-PF’s traditional protocol and procedures have been changed with a lot of gossiping, back-biting and public chastisement being the order of the day,” Chiwenga said.
Chiwenga’s statement was not published in the local state-owned daily or on Zimbabwe television. It was brushed off by Mugabe’s lieutenants but two days later, the army had taken over.
Major General Sibusiso Moyo, who announced the takeover, said that this was not a military coup. Mugabe was still the Head of State and was safe.
“We are only targeting criminals around him who are committing crimes that are causing social and economic suffering in the country in order to bring them to justice,” he said. “As soon as we have accomplished our mission, we expect that the situation will return to normalcy.”
There is a strong belief that Mnangagwa too is now surrounded by criminals and it is these criminals that are pushing that he stays in power until 2030 so that they can continue their looting.
Mnangagwa vowed to end corruption in his inaugural speech as the country’s second executive president on 24 November 2017.
“As we focus on recovering our economy, we must shed misbehaviours and acts of indiscipline which have characterised the past. Acts of corruption must stop forthwith. Where these occur swift justice must be served to show each and all that crime and other acts of economic sabotage can only guarantee ruin to perpetrators. We have to aspire to be a clean nation, one sworn to high moral standards and deserved rewards,” he said.
Indeed corruption ended for a few months after his swearing-in in but as people realised that it was all talk and no action, it started growing resulting in those accused of corruption being arrested and released in what was to become known as “catch and release”.
The corruption is now out of bounds and those involved are allegedly people surrounding Mnangagwa who are looting the country with impunity. They would like him to stay on but Mnangagwa is aware of the dire consequences he could face by staying on.
Former Zimbabwe Defence Industries boss Tshinga Dube said, just before his death, that those calling for Mnangagwa to stay on were doing so for personal interests.
“Advisers are problematic, those advising him are only looking at things that benefit themselves only,” he said. “We must be careful with advice that we give to the President so that it does not benefit individuals only because we want his legacy to remain; these things can destroy his legacy after working so hard as minister, survived hangman’s noose and at the end of the day his legacy is destroyed like that,’’ Dube added.
Mnangagwa is now in a quandary. Though he is constitutionalism, those who want him to stay on are using his own words, that he is a listening president, to hang him arguing that if he is a listening president he should stay on because the people have spoken.
But staying own could have disastrous consequences.
Mnangagwa himself said when he was sworn in in November 2017: “For close to two decades now, this country went through many developments. While we cannot change the past, there is a lot we can do in the present and future to give our Nation a different, positive direction.
“As we do so, we should never remain hostages to our past. I thus humbly appeal to all of us that we let bygones be bygones, readily embracing each other in defining a new destiny. The task at hand is that of rebuilding our great country. It principally lies with none but ourselves.
“I implore you all to declare that NEVER AGAIN should the circumstances that have put Zimbabwe in an unfavourable position be allowed to recur or overshadow its prospects. We must work together, you, me, all of us who make up this Nation.”
Pressure is piling on Mnangagwa to stay on, but can he withstand the pressure and stick to the country’s constitution?
Mnangagwa, and the ruling party, also have something to worry about if they have the country at heart. Recent elections in the region have shown that the electorate, and not party lieutenants, has the final say at the end of the day.
The African National Congress of South Africa was forced to go into a government of national unity after failing to win an outright majority in the May 2024 elections. It had been in power for 30 years.
In Botswana the ruling Botswana Democratic Party was kicked out of power last month after 58 years in power.
This article was first published here by the InderZim.