Mnangagwa addresses the National Competitiveness Commission Inaugural Summit 2025 in February. (Photo:@edmnangagwa/X)
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term of office lasts for three more years. Already, however, Zimbabwean politics is consumed with the question: Will he stay or will he go?
His predecessor, Robert Mugabe, was famously reluctant to leave office. His wife Grace told a crowd that Mugabe would govern from the grave.
She was wrong: Mugabe was forced out by a military coup in 2017, orchestrated by none other than his deputy – Emmerson Mnangagwa.
History is at risk of repeating itself, say Mnangagwa’s critics. This is despite strong denials from the president himself.
“I am a constitutionalist. I have my two terms. When they come to an end, the country and the party will move on by electing my successor,” Mnangagwa told state media editors in Harare earlier this month.
There is a very different message coming from the ruling Zanu-PF.
In October, at its annual conference in Bulawayo, the party passed “Resolution #1”, which called for the president’s term to be extended by two years, until 2030. This would need a constitutional amendment.
As recently as 17 February, Information Minister Jenfan Muswere argued there would be “nothing unconstitutional” about making such an amendment.
At rallies and funerals, party youths have been chanting Mnangagwa’s nickname, Ngwena – crocodile, and holding banners demanding he remain in office beyond 2028.
And on national television, jingles extolling the president’s virtues have become commonplace.
In one of these jingles – much mocked on social media – young women wearing green Zanu-PF T-shirts and black and yellow miniskirts sing the praises of the 82-year-old leader:
“Your rule Mr Mnangagwa excites me, your rule Mr Mnangagwa pleases me. The way you lure investors is amazing.”
As expected, opposition parties and civil society activists have condemned the party’s plans to keep Mnangagwa in power.
Much more surprising is the depth of the opposition within the ruling party itself – and especially from among war veterans who fought in the country’s liberation struggle in the 1960s and 1970s.
The first and most prominent war vet to publicly contradict the party line was Blessed “Bombshell” Geza, who is a member of Zanu-PF’s central committee.
He told a press conference in January: “We are saying, as war veterans, enough is enough. You have shown you have failed.”
Under Mnangagwa, inflation has skyrocketed and public utilities, including water and electricity supply, have all but collapsed.
Mnangagwa himself, along with several senior officials, is under sanctions by the United States following allegations of corruption and human rights abuses.
Another war vet, Buster Magwizi, told The Continent in a telephone interview that amending the Constitution to keep Mnangagwa in power would cause instability in the country.
“[Mnangagwa] must denounce resolution number one.”
The criticism is clearly touching a nerve. After interviewing Geza, and airing his critical comments, journalist Blessed Mhlanga was arrested and charged with “inciting violence or damage to property”.
On Friday, Mhlanga was denied bail and remanded in custody until 14 March by magistrate Farai Gwatima, who said: “The release of the accused will put the nation in unrest and undermine peace and security”.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has called for Mhlanga’s release, and accused the Zimbabwean government of “punishing the messenger”.
Stanford Nyatsanza, a researcher at the Zimbabwe Democracy Institute, said the ruling party is not the only factor in deciding whether Mnangagwa stays.
He told The Continent: “The succession battle is more likely to be settled by the military and it is now the question of who commands military authority between the two warring factions within Zanu-PF.”
In this context, all eyes are on Constantino Chiwenga, Mnangagwa’s deputy. Chiwenga is the former commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, and still commands loyalty within the ranks.
He has not commented publicly on the matter.
This article first appeared in The Continent, the pan-African weekly newspaper produced in partnership with the Mail & Guardian. It’s designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp. Download your free copy here.
