Former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) senator Felix Magalela Sibanda says ZANU PF members who are lobbying for President Emmerson Mnangagwa to violate the country’s Constitution by extending his term to 2030 are criminals who should be arrested.
In a recent statement, Sibanda alleged that agitating for the violation of the Constitution is an act of treason, and those urging the President to breach the country’s supreme law should face legal consequences. Said Sibanda:
According to the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Chapter 5 (90), the President of Zimbabwe must uphold, defend and respect the Constitution as the supreme law of the nation and must ensure that the Constitution and all other laws are faithfully observed.
Sibanda further asserted that all individuals agitating for President Mnangagwa to extend his term should be promptly arrested, as they are encouraging the blatant violation of the country’s supreme law, which he deemed highly unconstitutional and treasonous.
The former Bulawayo Senator argued that the police should have no difficulty identifying the culprits, as they have been recorded by the state broadcaster ZBC making what he described as “treasonous statements.” He said:
We, as concerned citizens, are calling and appealing to the Police Commissioner-General to move fast by arresting all these political zealots who want to cause untold socio-political upheavals in this country because of their self-preservation and selfish ends.
Police officers have a constitutional right to arrest anyone if there are reasonable suspicions that they are about to commit a crime or have actually committed a crime.
In this case, all suspects are well known and are recorded by ZBC [Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation television] and various local, regional and international news outlets.
Sibanda’s demands come after ZANU PF’s provincial structures have endorsed calls for President Mnangagwa to extend his term beyond 2028, the limit prescribed by the Constitution.
Constitutionally, a president is only permitted to serve two five-year terms and cannot benefit from amendments allowing for term extensions.
In recent months, Mnangagwa himself has publicly stated on two occasions his intention to retire at the end of his second and final term in 2028.
More: Pindula News