Constitutional lawyer and National Constitutional Assembly leader Professor Lovemore Madhuku escaped injury after his vehicle left a gravel road and struck trees in the Humani Ranch area of Chiredzi on Saturday, October 31.
Madhuku was travelling from Harare to attend the funeral of 15-year-old Trevor, the son of Vhurande Mahlupeko, a National Constitutional Assembly member who is among the people challenging Constitution Amendment Act No. 3. The vehicle was extensively damaged in the crash, but Madhuku said he and another occupant were unharmed.
“I was travelling on a gravel road from Harare to Chiredzi to attend the funeral. They were waiting for me, and I was rushing to get there when the vehicle skidded, veered off the road and hit a tree. The vehicle was extensively damaged, but fortunately, the other occupant and I escaped without any injuries,” Madhuku said.
He described the road as gravel and said the vehicle skidded before going off the road and hitting a tree. Reports identified it as an Isuzu double-cab allocated to him by President Mnangagwa through the Political Actors Dialogue programme, known as POLAD. Madhuku later described the crash as not serious.
“It wasn’t a serious accident,” he said.
The crash drew attention because of its timing and Madhuku’s role in several legal challenges to the constitutional amendment. Posts on social media speculated that the accident might have been deliberately caused to intimidate him or interfere with the court cases. Madhuku rejected that suggestion, saying the crash was caused by the vehicle skidding on the road.
“I have seen some speculation suggesting that there could have been foul play, with some people alleging that the accident might have been influenced by the Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3 court hearings. No, I am very much alive to what happened. It was an accident,” he said.
Madhuku was travelling to the village for the funeral of Mahlupeko’s son. Mahlupeko is a complainant in one of the Constitutional Court cases against the amendment, and Madhuku is representing him. The journey was therefore to a family funeral as well as an event involving a close colleague whose case he is handling.
The case is scheduled to be heard by the Constitutional Court on November 11. Mahlupeko is asking the court to invalidate the entire Act, arguing that 10 provisions were added to the final legislation after the original Bill had been published for public review. His challenge says the public did not receive the required 90-day notice to consider those provisions before they were introduced in Parliament.
The hearing is expected to consider that procedural challenge alongside a separate application by former opposition MP Prince Dubeko Sibanda. His case challenges the extension of presidential and parliamentary terms from five years to seven, including the application of the longer terms to current officeholders.
The amendment, signed into law by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on July 7, 2026, became Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Act No. 3 of 2026. Its provisions extend the presidential and parliamentary terms and change how the President is selected. The legislation moves the next general election from 2028 to 2030 and replaces the direct election of the President by voters with selection through Parliament.
Madhuku has represented people challenging different parts of the changes. The applications have raised questions about the public consultation process, the effect of the term extension on leaders already in office, and the right of citizens to elect the President directly. Mahlupeko’s case centres on the route taken to pass the Act, while Sibanda’s focuses on whether the longer terms can benefit current officeholders.
The November 11 hearing will bring those two challenges before the court on the same day. The court is also due to hear another challenge on November 25, filed by the Movement for Democratic Change, which argues that removing the direct presidential vote required a national referendum.
The accident happened as preparations continued for the funeral and as the court cases moved towards their scheduled hearings. Madhuku’s damaged vehicle left him unable to continue the journey in it, but he said the crash did not injure him or the other occupant. The incident did not prevent him from making clear that he rejected claims of political interference.
His journey had begun in Harare and was taking him to Chiredzi to be with Mahlupeko and his family at a difficult time. The crash, in a rural area of the district, turned that trip into a frightening detour before the funeral. But Madhuku’s account was direct: the vehicle skidded on the gravel, left the road and struck a tree.
The vehicle sustained extensive damage, while its occupants escaped without injury. As the November hearing approaches, Madhuku remains part of the legal team pursuing the challenge brought by Mahlupeko, the bereaved father whose son’s funeral he had been travelling to attend.