ED2030 Constitutional challenge set down for 9 February 2026

The Constitutional Court is set to hear an application by activist Mbuso Fuzwayo on February 9, 2026, seeking to block the ruling ZANU-PF party's plan to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa's term of office beyond 2028.

Fuzwayo, the secretary of pressure group Ibhetshu Likazulu, has filed the application challenging ZANU-PF's push to prolong Mnangagwa's presidency to 2030 through constitutional amendments.

In his court papers, Fuzwayo cites ZANU-PF as the first respondent, alongside Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda, Attorney-General Virginia Mabiza, and President Mnangagwa himself, all in their official capacities.

The legal challenge centres on Resolution Number 1 of 2024, adopted at ZANU-PF's National People's Conference held in Bulawayo in October 2024. The resolution explicitly calls for the president's term to be "extended beyond 2028 to 2030" and instructs both the party and government to "set in motion the necessary amendments to the National Constitution so as to give effect to this resolution."

The directive was reaffirmed at the party's 2025 annual conference in Mutare, where delegates noted that "no notable steps have been taken" to implement the resolution. The conference subsequently directed the party's Secretary for Legal Affairs and the Minister of Justice to ensure the resolution is "fully implemented" before the 2026 conference.

In his founding affidavit, Fuzwayo argues that the resolution constitutes a "real and imminent threat of unconstitutional action" and directly infringes on his fundamental rights. On this basis, he is seeking direct access to the Constitutional Court.

Should the court grant leave, Fuzwayo intends to seek an interdict barring the respondents from taking any steps to implement Resolution Number 1 pending the final determination of the matter.

He is also asking the court to declare that Sections 95(2)(b) and 143(1) of the Constitution - which relate to the presidential term of office and the lifespan of Parliament - are term-limit provisions protected under Sections 328(1) and 328(7) of the Constitution. In addition, he seeks a declaration that implementing the ZANU-PF resolution violates his rights under Sections 3, 56 and 67, which deal with constitutional supremacy, equality before the law and political rights.

Central to Fuzwayo's argument is Section 328 of the Constitution, which governs constitutional amendments. Acting on legal advice, he contends that provisions establishing the length of the presidential term and the life of Parliament are entrenched term limits that cannot be altered without a referendum.

According to Fuzwayo, ZANU-PF's attempt to extend Mnangagwa's term without subjecting the matter to a national referendum is therefore fundamentally unconstitutional.

Ibhetshu Likazulu is cited as the second applicant. In an affidavit filed by its vice-chairperson, Thamsanqa Ncube, the organisation associates itself with Fuzwayo's submissions, stating that one of its core mandates is "to guard against the violation of the Constitution."

The application places the contentious issue of presidential term limits squarely before Zimbabwe's highest court, with potentially far-reaching implications for the country's constitutional order.