A Mortal Wound: The Planned Mutilation of Zimbabwe’s Constitution for One Man’s Ambition

By The Village Political Commentator

Area 51 -A Mortal Wound: The Planned Mutilation of Zimbabwe’s Constitution for One Man’s Ambition

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The Zimbabwean constitution, born from a hard-fought national referendum in 2013, was far from perfect. Yet, it represented a collective aspiration for a new democratic dawn, a deliberate break from a history of executive overreach and personalised rule. Today, that foundational document lies on the operating table, with the instruments of political surgery sharpened not to heal, but to mutilate. The goal? To surgically remove the constitutional term limits that stand between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and power beyond 2030.

A recently drafted bill, authored by an exiled Zimbabwean Political Science Professor, lays out the blueprint for this constitutional coup. It is a chillingly pragmatic document that exposes not a vision for national development, but a naked ambition for lifelong presidency, cloaked in the flimsy guise of legalism.

The Facade of "Alignment" and the Reality of Power Consolidation

The proposed bill, as analysed from the linked document, uses the technical language of "alignment" and "legal housekeeping" as a smokescreen. Its central, and most damning, proposal is the amendment of Section 91, which currently stipulates that a person is disqualified from election as President if they have already held office for two terms. The bill seeks to cunningly reset the term clock, proposing that the count of terms should only begin after the constitution's commencement.

This is not a minor technical adjustment; it is a deliberate and cynical manipulation. It would effectively erase President Mnangagwa’s current tenure from the record, granting him the ability to run for two fresh five-year terms. A man who should be a lame duck by 2030 could potentially rule until 2040. This move has a stale, familiar odour—it is the same tactic employed by dictators across the continent to subvert the will of the people and cling to power indefinitely.

Exploiting a Manufactured Majority

The bill’s drafters are acutely aware of the legal hurdles. Amending term limits requires a supermajority in parliament followed by a national referendum. The strategy, as outlined, is to leverage ZANU-PF’s current parliamentary dominance to bulldoze the amendment through. This exposes a critical flaw in Zimbabwean democracy: a constitution is only as strong as the respect its custodians afford it. When the ruling party views the supreme law not as a constraint on power but as an obstacle to be dismantled, the entire social contract crumbles.

The promise of a referendum is a hollow one. It will be conducted in a climate of fear, with state media acting as a propaganda arm, and the shadow of violence and intimidation looming over the electorate. The 2018 and 2023 elections have already demonstrated the regime’s proficiency in manipulating electoral outcomes. A referendum on a matter so central to the President’s personal interests would be nothing short of a staged legitimisation of a pre-determined result.

The Ghost of Mugabe and the Betrayal of "The New Dispensation"

When Emmerson Mnangagwa took power in 2017, he promised a "New Dispensation." He spoke of opening democratic space, respecting the rule of law, and moving away from the autocratic model of his predecessor, Robert Mugabe. This planned amendment is the final, unequivocal proof that the "New Dispensation" was a lie. Mnangagwa is not breaking from Mugabe’s legacy; he is perfecting it. Where Mugabe used overt coercion and a personality cult, Mnangagwa seeks to achieve the same ends through a veneer of constitutional process—a more insidious, but no less dangerous, form of authoritarianism.

It is a profound betrayal of the citizens who dared to hope for change. It signals that the political playing field will remain permanently tilted, that state institutions will continue to serve the interests of one man and one party, and that the generational change so desperately needed is being systematically blocked.

The International and Domestic Fallout

Internationally, this move will cement Zimbabwe’s pariah status. It will signal to potential investors and global partners that the country’s governance framework is unstable, subject to the whims of an incumbent, and fundamentally high-risk. No one invests in a country where the rules of the game are rewritten mid-match to favour one player.

Domestically, the consequences will be even more dire. It will deepen political polarisation, extinguish the hopes of the opposition, and fuel public apathy and disillusionment. By closing the only peaceful, constitutional path to alternation of power, the regime is making extra-constitutional and potentially violent responses more likely in the long run. It is a recipe for sustained instability and conflict.

Conclusion: A Line in the Sand

The proposed amendment to the Zimbabwean constitution is not a simple political manoeuvre. It is a mortal wound to the nation’s democratic future. It represents the triumph of personal ambition over the national interest, of cynical legalism over genuine rule of law.

Zimbabweans, and all who care about democracy in Africa, must recognise this move for what it is: a constitutional mutilation designed to crown a president for life. The fight to stop it must be waged in parliament, in the courts, in the media, and in the streets. To remain silent is to be complicit in the entrenchment of a new dynasty. The term limit is a line in the sand; if it is erased, the floodgates of absolute rule will open once more, and the dream of a democratic Zimbabwe will recede even further into the horizon.