Source: Ex-soldiers launch party to challenge ED term extension -Newsday Zimbabwe
SOME retired and former serving members of the country’s security service have launched a new political party, with its leadership pledging to restore discipline and accountability while challenging the government’s handling of national affairs.
The launch comes amid mounting opposition from retired soldiers and former security personnel to President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s push to extend his tenure beyond the constitutional two-term limit, a move that has deepened factionalism within Zanu PF.
The Constitution Amendment No 3 Bill (CAB 3), which seeks to extend presidential and parliamentary terms and transfer the power to elect the president from the public to Parliament, has already sailed through the National Assembly and Senate.
This is despite widespread criticism from civil society, opposition parties and some ruling party insiders.
Guardians of Zimbabwe president Moses Kumbweya, a former security officer, said the movement had been born out of an oath of service to the nation.
“For years, we wore the uniforms of this nation in the army, the police and prison services,” he said.
“We swore an oath not to any political party or individual, but to Zimbabwe and her people.”
He said members of the new party had witnessed the effects of corruption, poor governance and the erosion of discipline while serving in the country’s security institutions.
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“We have defended this country and its interests at the borders and beyond.
“Now we must defend it in its boardrooms, its ministries, its communities and for our people abroad.”
Kumbweya described the Guardians of Zimbabwe as “a political party born out of oath”, saying it sought to restore order through service.
He strongly questioned Zanu PF’s “2030 agenda” to extend its tenure, arguing that it had failed to provide basic public services and protect vulnerable citizens.
He accused the ruling elite of prioritising personal power over national duty, and warned that the CAB 3 amendments represented a dangerous power-grab that would entrench a one-party State.
“As retired soldiers, we took an oath to defend the constitution, not to see it rewritten for the benefit of a few.
“We cannot stand by while those in power engineer a legal coup to stay beyond their mandate,” Kumbweya said.
His deputy, Constance Zulu, said the party was determined to build a government that prioritised ordinary citizens and vulnerable families.
“I, too, swore an oath to serve Zimbabwe, an oath that does not expire when the uniform comes off,” she said.
She said many Zimbabwean families continued to face hunger, unemployment and declining living standards despite the country’s abundant resources.
Organising secretary Oscar Chaza said the party was concerned about the hardships being faced by civil servants, including teachers, nurses, police officers and members of the defence forces.
Chaza also highlighted the plight of pensioners and retired civil servants whose retirement benefits had been eroded by inflation and economic instability.
The launch of the new party is widely seen as a direct response to the deepening succession crisis within Zanu PF, where factions aligned to Mnangagwa and Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga are locked in a bitter struggle, with retired soldiers increasingly voicing their opposition to any unconstitutional extension of the president’s term.
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