Lawyer Thabani Mpofu has drawn parallels between the biblical King Hezekiah and ZANU-PF’s push to amend the Constitution so President Emmerson Mnangagwa can remain in office beyond the end of his second term in 2028.
The comparison began after Vice President Constantino Chiwenga delivered a sermon at a Roman Catholic church in Mashonaland East Province.
It has since taken on a political dimension, with links made between Hezekiah’s request for more years to live and the Constitutional Amendment Bill No 3.
In a post on X on Friday, 1 May, Mpofu said King Hezekiah made a grave mistake when he asked God to extend his life. The biblical account records that Hezekiah was granted 15 more years.
During those 15 years, Hezekiah fathered a son who became King Manasseh. Manasseh is considered the most wicked king of Judah and reigned for 55 years.
Mpofu argued that if Hezekiah had died at the appointed time, Manasseh would not have been born. That, he said, would have spared the people of Judah immense suffering.
“HEZEKIAH KNOW WHEN TO GO… Manasseh, the most wicked king of Judah, reigned for fifty-five years. A more worthless, cruel, and diabolical wretch never disgraced the name or form of man. He was as base and contemptible as he was abominable and disgusting,” wrote Mpofu.
“His disastrous reign might have been avoided: Manasseh was born late in Hezekiah’s extended reign, and had Hezekiah died earlier, Manasseh would never have been born, and Judah would have been at rest.
“Hezekiah, know when to go—follow the frontline—and spare us unnecessary problems.”
Last month, Chiwenga triggered a political storm in Zimbabwe after a sermon at a Roman Catholic gathering in Murewa.
His message, based on the biblical story of King Hezekiah, was widely seen as a veiled warning against Mnangagwa’s bid to extend his term through Constitutional Amendment Bill No 3.
Chiwenga recounted the account in 2 Kings 20, where King Hezekiah, told by the prophet Isaiah that he would die, pleaded with God for more time and was granted 15 extra years.
He argued that extra years are not always a blessing, suggesting that Hezekiah’s request stemmed from a belief that he alone could lead.
Chiwenga went on to outline the unintended consequences of that extension during those 15 years. Hezekiah showed his treasures to envoys from Babylon, an act that brought future ruin.
He added that Hezekiah spent the extra years “in jail” — a phrase not found in the biblical text but often used in political rhetoric — because his people protested against his rule.
The sermon drew sharp criticism from across ZANU-PF’s factions. Former MP Temba Mliswa reacted angrily, describing it as a “brazen attack” on the president.
He said Chiwenga had become the “principal internal opposition figure” and should resign for criticising Mnangagwa in public rather than through party structures. Mliswa called the move “diplomatically gross” and accused the vice-president of pandering to social media.
He argued that Chiwenga lacked the political weight to block CAB3 in cabinet or the politburo and was now resorting to “coded” church sermons.
Minister of Local Government Daniel Garwe, a Mnangagwa ally and backer of the “2030” term-extension campaign, sought to “correct” Chiwenga’s theology.
He said Hezekiah had begged for more years of life, not more years of rule. Garwe urged Zimbabweans to pray for Mnangagwa to be granted “long life” whenever they kneel to pray, rather than focusing on term limits.
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