Zimbabwe’s former
Finance
Minister
and
prominent
lawyer
Tendai
Biti
has
been
detained
by
police,
along
with
several
fellow
activists,
amid
mounting
tensions
over
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s
bid
to
extend
his
stay
in
power.
Biti’s
civic‑rights
group,
the
Constitution
Defenders
Forum
(CDF),
said
he
had
been
organising
a
rally
in
Mutare
at
the
time
of
his
arrest.
Police
have
not
commented
on
Biti’s
detention,
and
his
whereabouts
were
not
immediately
clear.
Zimbabwe’s
cabinet
last
month
backed
draft
legislation
that
would
amend
the
constitution
to
extend
presidential
terms
from
five
to
seven
years
and
allow
lawmakers, rather
than
voters, to
choose
the
president.
The
changes
would
enable
Mnangagwa
to
remain
in
office
until
2030,
a
move
Biti,
his
organization
and
opposition parties
strongly
oppose.
Opponents
campaigning
against
the
constitutional
changes
said
they
had
been
subjected
to
beatings
or
intimidation.
Critics
say amendments
are
unconstitutional
David
Coltart,
the
mayor
of
Bulawayo,
the
country’s
second‑largest
city,
condemned
the
arrest,
saying
it
appears
Biti’s
outspoken
criticism
of
the
proposed
constitutional
changes
is
what
landed
him
in
trouble.
“Why
is
[Mnangagwa’s]
Zanu
PF
so
paranoid
about
pushing
these
amendments
through
using
such
illegal,
authoritarian
and
unconstitutional
means?
It
clearly
knows
that
it
does
not
enjoy
the
support
of
the
overwhelming
majority
of
Zimbabweans,”
he
wrote
on
X.
Mnangagwa,
who
is
83,
was
due
to
step
down
in
2028
after
completing
two
five‑year
terms.
ZANU‑PF
has
ruled
Zimbabwe
since
independence
from
Britain
in
1980.
Legal
challenges
to
the
proposal
are
expected,
with
constitutional
experts
arguing
that
any
change
to
presidential
term
limits
would
require
a
referendum
—
and
noting
that
such
amendments
cannot
benefit
a
sitting
president.
“Zimbabweans
have
got
the
right
to
approach
the
courts
of
law,”
Biti
said
late
last
year.
Edited
by: Saim
Dušan
Inayatullah