“Mnangagwa’s Term Could Be Extended Beyond 2030”

Legal expert Fadzayi Mahere has warned that if ZANU PF’s proposed constitutional amendments go ahead, extending presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years, there will be nothing to stop further extensions, or even the removal of term limits entirely.

Since 2024, ZANU-PF has been openly working on extending President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s second term by two years, from 2028 to 2030.

On Tuesday, the Cabinet approved a draft Constitutional Amendment Bill that seeks to extend both presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years.

Reacting to the move, Mahere said the party is unlikely to stop at seven-year terms and could push for 10- or 20-year terms, eventually scrapping term limits altogether. She wrote on X:

“What stops them from extending it further to a ten-year term, then a twenty-year term and then eventually doing away with terms altogether? What stops them from replacing Parliament with a system of Monarchy?”

Speaking on ZiFM Stereo’s Current Affairs show The Platform with Brian Sithole on Wednesday, ZANU-PF Chief Whip in Parliament, Pupurai Togarepi, said it is possible to extend President Mnangagwa’s term beyond 2030 if Zimbabweans support the move. Said Togarepi:

“If we go to the public hearings and the people decide the two years is not enough, we are going to consult people and they say we don’t want two years we want more years, who are we to say no because we are doing it for the people of Zimbabwe. We will hear from them and what they say carries the day.”

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