HARARE
–
A
group
of
retired
generals
and
former
senior
civil
servants
has
issued
a
blistering
statement
accusing
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
of
being
the
“principal
architect
and
principal
beneficiary”
of
the
Constitutional
Amendment
(No.
3)
Bill,
alleging
that
a
$31
million
fund
was
set
aside
to
buy
parliamentary
votes
and
naming
businessman
Kudakwashe
Tagwirei
as
the
financial
engine
behind
the
push.
The
government
introduced
the
bill
to
parliament
for
its
first
reading
on
Tuesday.
Justice
minister
Ziyambi
Ziyambi
has
signalled
their
intention
to
rush
it
through
both
houses
of
parliament
before
sending
it
to
Mnangagwa
for
his
assent.
The
legislation
would
extend
Mnangagwa’s
term
by
two
years
to
2030
and
increase
presidential
terms
from
five
years
to
seven.
His
supporters
also
want
presidents
to
be
elected
by
parliament
rather
than
by
direct
popular
vote.
Mnangagwa,
83,
is
constitutionally
required
to
step
down
in
2028
after
serving
two
five-year
terms.
The
bill
has
drawn
criticism
from
a
fractured
opposition
and
some
veterans
of
the
country’s
liberation
war.
Political
analysts
expect
the
bill
to
sail
through
parliament:
Zanu
PF
holds
a
two-thirds
majority
in
the
lower
house
and
overwhelmingly
controls
the
upper
house
through
traditional
leaders
and
other
proxies
who
generally
vote
with
it,
giving
the
ruling
party
the
numbers
required
to
change
the
constitution.
Ziyambi
has
said
he
expects
the
legislative
process
to
have
been
concluded
by
the
end
of
June.
Retired
Air
Marshal
Henry
Muchena,
speaking
on
behalf
of
the
group
–
whose
other
members
have
not
been
publicly
disclosed
–
said
they
had
formally
petitioned
parliament
in
March
2026
and
subsequently
held
two
face-to-face
meetings
with
Mnangagwa,
meetings
that
ended
without
resolution.
ZimLive
understands
Mnangagwa
met
with
eight
members
of
the
group,
including
Muchena,
on
May
18,
where
the
generals
stated
their
opposition
to
the
amendments.
Mnangagwa
asked
them
to
reconvene
the
following
day,
but
when
they
arrived
the
president
was
flanked
by
Ziyambi
and
attorney
general
Virginia
Mabhiza,
who
made
presentations
defending
the
public
consultation
process
and
arguing
that
no
referendum
was
required.
Mnangagwa
was
described
as
combative.
When
the
generals
raised
their
concerns
about
the
bill’s
constitutional
implications
and
warned
of
the
alienation
of
citizens
and
Zanu
PF
members,
the
president
responded:
“Whoever
wins,
wins.”
“That
response
speaks
for
itself,”
Muchena
said.
“It
lays
bare
the
contempt
with
which
the
constitutional
concerns
of
citizens
and
members
of
our
party
are
regarded
at
the
highest
level
of
executive
authority.”
The
statement
goes
further
than
the
generals’
earlier
public
remarks,
directly
naming
Sakunda
Holdings
boss Tagwirei
–
the
politically-connected
businessman
who
is
under
United
States
and
British
sanctions
–
as
the
primary
financial
force
sustaining
the
process,
and
accusing
him
of
operating
under
the
belief
that
he
is
the
“secondary
beneficiary”
of
the
intended
amendments.
They
allege
that
provincial
Zanu
PF
chairmen
were
induced
with
motor
vehicles
and
cash
payments
of
US$100,000
each
to
support
the
bill.
The
generals
claim
that
during
the
40th
birthday
celebration
of
ICT
minister
Tatenda
Mavetera
late
last
month,
Tagwirei
convened
a
closed
caucus
with
ministers
Ziyambi,
Mthuli
Ncube,
Torerayi
Moyo,
and
chief
cabinet
secretary
Martin
Rushwaya,
at
which
a
US$31
million
budget
for
procuring
parliamentary
votes
was
discussed
–
with
US$50,000
approved
per
Member
of
Parliament.
“These
are
not
allegations
we
make
lightly,”
Muchena
said.
“We
make
them
as
men
and
women
who
have
served
this
nation
with
honour,
and
who
refuse
to
stand
silently
by
while
its
constitutional
foundations
are
sold
to
the
highest
bidder.
It
will
simply
not
happen.”
Muchena’s
statement
references
an
application
filed
by
activist
Youngerson
Matete
on
May
20
in
the
High
Court,
in
which
Matete
argues
that
incumbent
MPs
and
the
president
cannot
benefit
from
changes
to
term
limit
provisions
in
the
absence
of
two
referendums
held
six
months
apart.
The
generals
say
the
legal
arguments
advanced
are
“compelling
and
ought
to
persuade
any
reasonable
court”
and
declared
their
unqualified
respect
for
judicial
independence.
They
also
noted
that
individual
Members
of
Parliament
have
been
named
as
respondents
in
dozens
of
voter-initiated
applications
within
their
respective
constituencies.
“We
call
upon
[judges]
to
discharge
their
duty
without
fear
or
favour,”
Muchena
urged.
The
generals
issued
a
pointed
warning
to
Members
of
Parliament,
senators,
and
proportional
representation
members,
warning
that
voting
for
the
bill
would
constitute
“a
constitutional
transgression
that
will
carry
enduring
and
serious
political
consequences
for
each
and
every
individual
who
participates
in
it.”
They
called
on
all
citizens
to
“mobilise
the
electorate
in
active
and
sustained
opposition”
to
MPs
who
“seek
to
collude
with
zvigananda
to
unlawfully
extend
their
own
terms
of
office,
and
that
of
the
president,
without
the
absolute
consent
of
the
voters.”
Zvigananda
–
a
Shona
word
for
rapacious
accumulators
–
is
an
informal
reference
to
wealthy
backers
of
Mnangagwa’s
rule.
Muchena
signed
the
statement
“for
and
on
behalf
of
retired
generals
and
former
senior
civil
servants
of
the
Republic
of
Zimbabwe.”