President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s potential extended stay in power until 2030 continues to generate heated debate, with constitutional law expert Professor Lovemore Madhuku dismissing the ruling Zanu-PF party’s attempts as legally impossible.
Despite initial denials, analysts believe Mnangagwa harbours ambitions to remain in office beyond his constitutionally mandated two terms, employing a combination of legal loopholes, constitutional manipulation, and financial incentives for Parliamentarians.
Madhuku, a staunch opponent of the proposed extension, stated unequivocally to online news platform 263Chat: “We do not know how they intend to do it; they have not indicated how they would want to amend the constitution but what is very clear is that it is not possible to ensure that when the president’s term ends in 2028, he remains in office beyond 2028. There is no legal mechanism of doing it as it currently stands.”
The proposal, formally endorsed at Zanu-PF’s Bulawayo congress in 2024, has dominated Zimbabwean politics, further fracturing a society still scarred by the long rule of the late President Robert Mugabe, who was ousted in a military-backed coup in 2017 after 37 years in power.
Section 91 (2) of the Constitution limits a President’s tenure to two five-year terms and mandates a referendum for any changes. However, Zanu-PF is believed to be exploring ways to circumvent this, avoiding public consultation altogether.
Madhuku emphasised the necessity of a referendum, stating: “The kind of amendments they are talking about are not possible without a referendum. There are a few things you can amend without going for a referendum but if you want to tamper with the term of office of the president, the exercise of executive powers or the structure of the state, you cannot avoid a referendum. This idea of avoiding a referendum means that they know that this proposal is not popular with the people.”
Exiled former government minister Jonathan Moyo, the architect of the “Breaking Barriers Initiative,” argues that Mnangagwa’s term can be legally extended without a referendum. Moyo’s involvement suggests a determined effort within Zanu-PF to extend Mnangagwa’s presidency, potentially blocking Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s path to the top job.
“The Constitution’s sole presidential term limit on the officeholder lies in Section 91(2)’s two-term bar, which would remain untouched by a term length amendment to Section 95(2)(b),” Moyo stated on X. “Amending section 95(2)(b) to seven years, for instance, would simply recalibrate this flexible duration, enabling the extension to 2030 via a two-thirds vote in each House in Parliament—free from the “dictates” of sections 328(6)– (9).”
These attempts to prolong Mnangagwa’s rule are intertwined with factional struggles within Zanu-PF. An extended term would favour Mnangagwa’s preferred successor, businessman Kudakwashe Tagwirei, while potentially forcing Chiwenga to reconsider his ambitions, perhaps even through another coup.
Madhuku warned against imposing a constitution on the people, saying: “It is wrong for any political party on its own to want to impose a constitution on the people. Term limits are actually imposed to limit very good presidents. They were invented to ensure that a person would not remain in office merely because they were doing well…which is why some of the best presidents have had to leave. Term limits are for good presidents; you do not need term limits for a poor president who will obviously be removed in an election.”
Zanu-PF has already instructed government structures to begin drafting legislation to amend the Constitution, a move formally endorsed at the party’s annual national people’s conference in Mutare. Delegates argued that the extension would allow Mnangagwa to “complete ongoing national development programmes” aligned with the government’s Vision 2030 agenda.
According to State-owned The Herald, the conference unanimously adopted the resolution, framing it as a means to ensure policy continuity and consolidate the gains made under Mnangagwa’s leadership.
Zanu-PF’s acting political commissar, Munyaradzi Machacha, told The Herald that the resolution would be forwarded to the party’s central committee for consideration, adding: “Our president has demonstrated exceptional leadership in driving national development. The conference agreed he should be supported to continue implementing Vision 2030.”
Mnangagwa, currently serving his second and final term which ends in 2028, would remain in office until 2030 if the amendment is approved. This would require a constitutional change, which Zanu-PF can initiate given its parliamentary majority.
Political analyst Eldred Masunungure told NewsDay that while Zanu-PF has the numbers to amend the Constitution, the political cost could be significant, saying: “It’s a move that consolidates power but also highlights the fragility of the party’s internal balance.”
Supporters of the resolution argue that Mnangagwa needs the extra time to complete the Vision 2030 economic transformation plan. They credit him with leading the country towards stability after years of economic hardship and international isolation.
The proposed constitutional amendment would strengthen Mnangagwa’s control over both the party and the State, leaving the question of succession unresolved.
Meanwhile, Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Douglas Mwonzora has criticised President Mnangagwa as “an ungrateful man,” as opposition to the term extension grows.
Despite Mnangagwa’s public denials, Zanu-PF is pushing ahead with plans to amend Section 91(2) and Section 328(7) of the Constitution, which would bar Mnangagwa from running for a third term and prevent a sitting president from benefiting from such an amendment.
Mwonzora stated: “Why should we give President Mnangagwa who is 83 with another term? He has been Minister since 1980 and he has been President, first completing the tenure of President Mugabe and the two terms that he has been given. He needs to be an ungrateful man to seek anything beyond that.”
Mwonzora argued that Zimbabwe has seen no tangible improvement under Mnangagwa’s leadership, saying: “There is nothing special that we have received from his presidency at all. Zimbabweans continue wallowing in poverty, although they say that there is economic development in Zimbabwe. Average Zimbabweans have become poorer. Some Zimbabweans cannot afford a meal a day every day and there is a lot of unemployment, so why should we have a term?”
According to a leaked corruption dossier allegedly authored by Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, Zanu-PF is planning to introduce the Breaking Barriers Initiative (BBI) to postpone elections and extend the tenure of the National Assembly until 2030. The BBI is reportedly being presented as a national stability project.
Mwonzora warned against tampering with the 2013 Constitution, which was overwhelmingly endorsed by citizens in a national referendum, saying: “MDC was an active participant in the drafting of the constitution and it heard the views of the people of Zimbabwe. The people of Zimbabwe want a limited term. Somebody rules the country, is given a second term if possible, then they go home. So we remain opposed to the so-called 2030 agenda.”
While President Mnangagwa’s government boasts of a projected 6% economic growth, analysts say the administration has failed to resolve Zimbabwe’s sovereign currency crisis. The Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), introduced in April last year, has become virtually extinct.
Zimbabwe’s economic growth is expected to slow to 3.5% in the medium-term. Inflation is expected to remain low amid tight liquidity and reduced exchange rate pressures, but still subject to significant uncertainty.
The US dollar remains the main medium of exchange, store of value, and unit of account, according to the most recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on Zimbabwe.
“The share of ZiG in monetary aggregates is small at around 17 percent, prices are rarely quoted in ZiG, and salaries and goods and services transactions are typically either fully or partially paid in US dollar,” the IMF report says.
“Official measures to mandate the formal sector to use the WBWS (Willing-Buyer Willing-Seller) rate in the pricing of goods and services (Statutory Instrument 81A of 2024) increased dollarisation and informality but were repealed in May-2025. The government has announced a plan to transition to a ‘mono-currency system’ by 2030, understood as ZiG becoming the sole legal tender. The plan is to be fleshed out in the forthcoming National Development Strategy II (NDS2) but, for now, the lack of clarity about its operational implications for existing foreign currency bank deposits has increased uncertainty and weighed on financial intermediation.”
Imara Asset Management (Zimbabwe) notes that ZiG has practically become “extinct” as only very few people use it.
Introduced last year amid official hype, ZiG has significantly lost value, depreciating at least 33% year-on-year, according to American economist Professor Steve Hanke, who says ZiG is presently the world’s fifth worst currency.
Imara notes that ZiG had lost nearly half its original value by September 2024 after devaluation.
“Ever since then, the RBZ (Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe) has refused to give access to government to access its overdraft facility. As a result, there has been negligible money creation, and the currency has stayed stable,” Imara says. “Indeed, there is so little ZWG around that it has become relatively extinct as a transactional currency; few players use it so it has become largely irrelevant. And yet, as far as we can see the economy remains in great shape and ‘stable’.”
Analysts say removing the US dollar and bringing back the Zimdollar would be economic suicide.
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