Maponga wants Mnangagwa to be made a king

Author and philosopher Joshua Maponga has proposed that Zimbabwe abandon its constitutional democracy in favour of a monarchy, suggesting the country should introduce what he calls Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 4 (CAB4) and make President Emmerson Mnangagwa its first king.

Speaking in remarks shared online, Maponga argued that democracy is a Western political system that is ill-suited to African societies and said Zimbabwe should become the first African country to formally replace it with a monarchical system.

"Can't we just apply our minds and use the same democratic system to create what I want to call now CAB4?" Maponga said.

"CAB3 was to extend the term of a President. Tear CAB3. Let's do CAB4. Zimbabwe again will lead the way to become the first African state to break away from democracy back into monarchy."

He added: "I have declared. We were the first to take the land. We will be the first again to break away from democracy and we go for the monarch."

Maponga's remarks come against the backdrop of the recently enacted Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Act, 2026, commonly referred to as CAB3, which introduced several changes to the country's constitutional framework.

He argued that instead of implementing Constitutional Amendment No. 3, Zimbabwe should use the same legislative process to establish a monarchy rooted in African traditions.

Maponga also criticised Zimbabwe's educated elite, accusing them of adopting Western political ideas without developing indigenous systems of governance.

"Think, African children! Our weakest link are our educated community. Fantasise sitting around talking lots of English. 'I want to have a debate. A full confrontational debate.' Call Biti. Call Tendai Biti himself. Call Mahere. Call Ostallos, and call Chamisa. Six of them, put them there," he said.

"You're slow to think. You're footnotes in your own history. Parrots, regurgitating other people's ideologies, and you hate to think, structuring your own ideologies. You think you're smart enough to perfect democracy. Look at Donald Trump. That's democracy."

Maponga further questioned what he described as the contradiction of respecting European monarchies while dismissing African traditional leadership.

"Stupid Africans get offended by your own Kings and you pussyfoot around other people's kings. 'Hey, Mister Maponga, Mister Maponga.' Mister Maponga, my foot! I'm not Mister Maponga. I've never been to Britain and received an award conferred to me as Mister. I'm not a subject of a queen. I'm not a subject of a king sitting somewhere in Britain," he said.

He also argued that Western governments have invoked democracy to justify military intervention and foreign involvement in other countries.

"You walk up to another country, take a democratically elected president of another country and make him a prisoner. That's democracy. Bomb Iran, that's democracy. Bomb Afghanistan, that's democracy. Kill Muammar Gaddafi, that's democracy," he said.

Maponga's proposal represents a personal political opinion and has not been adopted or endorsed by the Government. Zimbabwe remains a constitutional republic governed under the Constitution of Zimbabwe, as amended by the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Act, 2026.