Mystery deepens over Mnangagwa 2030 saga

A Bulawayo-based activist who recently approached the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) seeking to block the extension of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's term of office to 2030 is facing mounting scrutiny amid conflicting statements about his motives.

Mbuso Fuzwayo, coordinator of the pressure group Ibhetshu LikaZulu, filed an application asking the ConCourt to compel the government and ruling Zanu-PF to abandon reported plans to amend the constitution to allow Mnangagwa to extend his stay in power by two more years.

The move follows Zanu-PF's annual conference in Mutare last month, where the party resolved to fast-track implementation of a 2024 resolution proposing that Mnangagwa's term be extended beyond 2028.

However, Fuzwayo's legal challenge has since taken a dramatic twist. The activist initially claimed he was misled into filing the application by self-imposed Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu - who has been accused of collaborating with Zanu-PF to advance the controversial term-extension agenda.

Some constitutional lawyers and political observers have described Fuzwayo's case as a decoy meant to create a legal path for the term extension by prompting a ConCourt ruling that could pre-empt future challenges.

Fuzwayo has since referred all inquiries to his lawyer, Nqobani Sithole. But Sithole disputed Fuzwayo's earlier claim, saying the activist approached him voluntarily for legal advice, further deepening the confusion.

Constitutional law expert Musa Kika described the case as "a political challenge deliberately designed to fail."

"You cannot challenge something that has not officially started," Kika said. "The court is simply going to dismiss it because the application is speculative, based on media reports rather than any formal process. But the danger is that the court might make pronouncements in dismissing the case - pronouncements that could later be used to legitimise an illegal term extension."

He added that Zanu-PF could use such cases as "counterintelligence," turning the legal system into a shield for unconstitutional ambitions.

Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition director Blessing Vava echoed similar concerns, saying that while citizens have the right to approach the courts, the application appears politically reckless and premature.

"There has not been any legal or parliamentary process on the so-called 2030 agenda - it's just a party resolution," Vava said. "Such cases risk undermining genuine future legal challenges once an actual process begins in Parliament."

Meanwhile, Fuzwayo has launched a campaign to contest the Nkulumane parliamentary by-election set for December 20. The seat fell vacant following the death of sitting MP Desire Moyo, who was killed in a car crash involving an elephant along the Gweru–Bulawayo highway.

Posters across Nkulumane show Fuzwayo campaigning under the slogan "Reject 2030", denouncing Mnangagwa's alleged plans as "a betrayal of democracy and accountability."

Analyst Reason Wafawarova, however, warned that the activist's case bears the hallmarks of a "decoy suit" designed to help the ruling party.

"At face value, it looks like civic courage," Wafawarova said. "But in reality, it seems engineered to fail so that tyranny can claim a judicial blessing. The lawyer handling the case, Nqobani Sithole, has also represented Tshabangu in several controversial cases that ultimately benefited the state. This time, the goal appears to be creating a Constitutional Court precedent that legitimises Mnangagwa's continued stay in power."