Zim News Blog -NEWS NETWORK

HARARE — Three constitutional advocacy organisations have formally withdrawn from the ongoing public hearings on the proposed Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3, declaring the process a sham and announcing a coordinated citizen-driven campaign in its place.

Jameson Timba, convenor of the Defend the Constitution Platform (DCP), made the announcement at a joint press conference in Harare on Wednesday, flanked by veteran opposition leader Tendai Biti of the Constitutional Defenders Forum (CDF) and Professor Lovemore Madhuku of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA).

The Bill, which has ignited fierce opposition across civil society, proposes a series of far-reaching changes to Zimbabwe’s constitutional order. Among its most contentious provisions is a proposal to extend the presidential term of office by two years, designed to keep President Emmerson Mnangagwa in power beyond 2028.

The Bill also proposes that the president be elected by Members of Parliament rather than directly by the people — a fundamental shift away from popular suffrage.

Other amendments would grant the president the power to appoint 10 senators, further consolidating executive control over the legislature. Opponents argue that taken together, the amendments represent a deliberate dismantling of the checks and balances enshrined in the 2013 constitution.

“This is not consultation. It is orchestration,” Timba said of an outreach by parliament to canvass public opinion on the planned amendments to the constitution.

He cited what he described as the systematic exclusion of dissenting voices, intimidation of citizens, and outright violence against those who sought to speak against the Bill.

“What we witnessed on March 31 in Harare, and indeed in other parts of the country, cannot be described as a genuine consultative process,” Timba said.

“Citizens were denied the opportunity to speak, voices were drowned out, and in some instances, violence and intimidation were deployed against those expressing dissenting views.”

The three organisations said they could no longer participate in or lend legitimacy to a process they described as “fundamentally flawed” and inconsistent with the spirit and letter of the constitution.

The March 30 to April 2 public consultations, which are non-binding, will culminate in a vote on the Bill by MPs, likely on May.

The groups were emphatic that their withdrawal from the hearings did not signal a retreat from the constitutional struggle. Timba announced that the DCP would establish a framework for lawful civic engagement anchored in Section 59 of the constitution, which guarantees the right to demonstrate and present petitions peacefully.

The platform, he said, would give citizens the ability to express their views freely, participate in organised civic action, and assert their constitutional rights.

The three organisations also issued a joint demand for a proper, comprehensive consultation process to be conducted in every constituency across the country.

The DCP, CDF and NCA announced they would establish a coordinated framework to act collectively in defence of the constitution. Timba said they would also be reaching out to a broader coalition of stakeholders, including the church and war veterans’ organisations.

“This is not about organisations,” Timba said. “It is about the people. It is about ensuring that the constitution remains a true expression of their will.”

The driving demand by the organisations is that the amendments be subjected to a referendum, which they argue is a constitutional requirement.
“We cannot legitimise a process that silences the very people it claims to consult. The constitution belongs to the people of Zimbabwe, and its future must be determined by them, not imposed upon them,” Timba said.

He called on all Zimbabweans to remain peaceful, vigilant and engaged, declaring that the defence of the constitution was now firmly in the hands of citizens.

IT is now clear beyond reasonable doubt that the current public consultation process by parliament is a fraud and a sham.

Across the length and breadth of the country, Zanu PF has carefully and methodically orchestrated a giant choreographed scam with the same basic structure and characteristics.

The first element has been the systematic use of violence and intimidation.

Across the country, known activists and democrats have been kidnapped, assaulted, or harassed.

In Chiredzi, Gilbert Mutebuki is fighting for his life, with his wife left terribly traumatised. He was refused the right to give testimony at the Chiredzi gathering. He was then followed, and his leg was literally cut. They left him for dead.

In Kwekwe and Mhondoro, the few who spoke against the constitution were followed up and assaulted. In Bulawayo, two youth leaders were assaulted and the Nketa meeting was prematurely abandoned.

The City Sports Centre in Harare on March 31 was a charade. As in all other places, thousands were bussed to the venue. The same crowd had been at Epworth in the morning.

They were fed fast food from Chicken Slice and Chicken Inn. They were made to sign hundreds of statements and affidavits, which they deposited in boxes provided by parliament.

Zanu PF was in charge. It was a youth chair who passed around the microphone – one who knew who to pick and what they were programmed to say. The message was the same orchestra of deceit.

“Allow the president time to complete his projects.”

But this is a man who has been in government since 1980. If he has not completed a legacy in 46 years, two more years will not help him.

“Elections are too divisive; we must concentrate on development.”

But it is regular, free, and fair elections that guarantee accountability and performance. In any event, this group has been in power since 1980 — they have nothing new to offer.

“MPs must elect the president, because South Africa does it.”

But South Africa employs a system of proportional representation, not first past the post — therefore its MPs carry a broader national mandate. Furthermore, the South African president does not enjoy the same imperial powers being granted to this president under the Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill, among them the power to appoint 10 senators.

It was painful to witness poor, marginalised and unemployed people being made advocates for those who are the very authors of their misfortune. The weaponisation and instrumentalisation of poverty and ignorance is a hallmark of authoritarian actors in dominated social formations.

Dictators across the world have systematically harvested the poverty and ignorance they themselves plant and nurture. Zanu PF has deliberately underdeveloped Zimbabwe as a means of reproducing its own power.

The intimidation and violence that played out at the City Sports Centre was surreal. The refusal to allow those in Bay 8 — where most democrats were stationed — to speak was pathetic and embarrassing. The assault on Doug Coltart was pre-planned and pre-paid. Some of us survived only due to the protection offered by fellow citizens.

There is no doubt that this process is intended to permanently muzzle and silence Zimbabwe. They are recreating a de facto one-party state. They have paid millions of dollars to destroy the democratic movement. But they seek to go further still — to turn Zimbabwe into a feudal monarchy: a Munhumutapa dynasty run and controlled by one family.

This ambition is ill-conceived and ill-advised. All it does is push Zimbabwe to the edge — to a point of no return.

The regime must understand that it cannot get away with its brazen, prehistoric agenda to seize power from the citizen. Citizens and the state itself will refuse and resist. The Munhumutapas — Kutamadzoka, Chigwangu, and others — will refuse this ahistorical abuse of the great Munhumutapa Empire.

It is not yet too late to withdraw this Bill. We urge its withdrawal.

Tendai Biti is the convener of the Constitutional Defenders Forum