HARARE
–
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
quietly
slipped
out
of
the
country
late
on
Wednesday
without
the
usual
airport
fanfare
of
blaring
sirens
and
ministers
to
see
him
off,
ZimLive
has
established.
The
Zanu
PF
leader,
83,
flew
to
Belarus
on
an
unexplained
trip
so
significant,
it
appears,
that
he
missed
a
farewell
dinner
in
honour
of
the
departing
Chief
Justice
Luke
Malaba
at
a
Harare
hotel
on
Thursday
evening.
Vice
President
Kembo
Mohadi
attended
the
event
as
guest
of
honour
“on
behalf
of…
Mnangagwa,”
government
spokesman
Ndavaningi
Mangwana
said.
Vice
President
Constantino
Chiwenga
also
attended
and
spoke
at
the
farewell.
Presidency
spokesman
George
Charamba
had
not
responded
to
questions
sent
to
him.
A
senior
government
source
who
spoke
to
ZimLive
revealed
it
was
not
the
first
time
Mnangagwa
had
left
the
country
without
ceremony.
“He
has
in
fact
made
this
exact
trip
[to
Belarus]
before,
leaving
late
at
night
and
returning
early
morning
after
a
couple
of
days.
It’s
just
that
this
time
someone
caught
onto
it,”
the
official
said.
Mnangagwa
enjoys
close
ties
with
Belarusian
strongman
Aleksandr
Lukashenko.
The
president’s
unexplained
absence
comes
as
parliament
braces
to
debate
the
Constitutional
Amendment
(No.
3)
Bill,
which
would
extend
his
second
and
final
term,
currently
due
to
end
in
2028,
to
2030.
The
bill
would
also
extend
parliament’s
term
by
two
years,
and
remove
the
direct
election
of
the
president,
who
would
instead
be
voted
in
by
MPs.
Critics
and
legal
experts
say
the
changes
cannot
be
implemented
without
a
referendum,
and
even
then
an
incumbent
cannot
benefit.
The
government
denies
this
and
appears
determined
to
force
through
the
proposal
which
has
reportedly
caused
ructions
in
Zanu
PF
amid
revelations
that
Chiwenga
is
stridently
opposed.
Catholic
bishops
warned
this
week
that
the
bill
would
“undermine
foundational
constitutional
principles,
weaken
institutional
independence,
diminish
direct
democratic
participation,
and
erode
constitutional
safeguards
against
the
concentration
and
abuse
of
power.”