That’s
the
stern
warning
from
opposition
leader
and
constitutionalist
Professor
Lovemore
Madhuku.
He
says
the
military
and
police
are
now
beholden
to
the
President
as
they
were
under
Robert
Mugabe.
Madhuku
and
17
members
of
his
party
were
beaten
up
inside
a
private
office
while
holding
a
meeting.
There’s
been
a
crackdown
on
dissidents
since
the
decision
to
extend
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s
rule.
Madhuku
and
other
members
of
his
party
were
meeting
behind
closed
doors
on
private
property.
They
were
discussing
ways
to
block
a
bill
in
parliament
to
extend
Mnangagwa’s
rule.
During
the
meeting,
men
burst
in
and
assaulted
the
members
of
the
National
Constitutional
Assembly.
They
are
almost
certain
that
the
intruders
were
state
spy
agents.
“Its
a
breakdown
of
constitutional
order
in
the
country.
And
that
breakdown
of
constitutional
order
in
the
country
is
being
engineered
by
the
ruling
party.
The
breakdown
comes
in
the
sense
that
there
are
no
state
institutions
that
can
function
anymore.
The
police
is
not
functioning
like
a
police
force
for
the
state.
“The
army
is
not
functioning
like
an
army
for
the
state.
These
are
all
institutions
that
have
become
institutions
of
a
party.
Once
you
become
an
institution
of
a
party,
you
have
become
institution
of
a
person
because
Zanu
PF
is
nothing
but
an
institution
held
by
whoever
is
the
leader
at
the
time.
Remember
during
the
time
former
President
Robert
Mugabe
it
was
one
center
of
power,”
Madhuku
said.
But
Zanu
PF’s
Director
if
Information,
Farai
Mrapira,
said
Mnangagwa
is
well
loved
and
that
the
opposition
is
spreading
fake
news.
“I
think
that
is
just
grandstanding
by
people
who
know
that
they
have
no
actually
constituency
in
which
to
stop
this
Mnangagwa
rule
extension
because
this
is
something
that
came
from
the
people.
They
know
that
people
are
not
with
them.
So
their
only
recourse
is
to
create
false
narratives
and
create
false
allegations
and
try
to
come
up
with
serious
issues.
Otherwise
this
is
just
political
conjecture
which
there
are
engaging
in
and
attention
seeking.
“People
need
to
understand
that
Zanu
PF
is
the
only
game
in
town
and
for
anyone
else
to
have
relevance
they
have
to
be
talking
to
or
about
Zanu
PF
and
this
is
essential
what
these
dead
weights
are
trying
to
do
.There
are
trying
to
find
political
relevance
attaching
their
names
to
Zanu
PF.”
Mnangagwa’s
two-term
rule
ends
in
2028,
but
if
the
bill
becomes
law,
it
will
be
extended
by
two
years
to
2030.