A traditional leader in Mashonaland East Province, Chief Seke, has been taken to court for allegedly chanting a slogan in support of amending the Constitution to allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his term beyond 2028, reported NewsDay.
Stanley Chimanikire, the designated Chief Seke, faces legal action from pro-democracy campaigner Esther Vongai Zimudzi, who claims he publicly endorsed the “Mnangagwa 2030” slogan.
This incident reportedly occurred during a recent address at a meeting in the Seke communal lands. He allegedly said:
2030 VaMnangagwa vanenge vachitonga, Pamberi neZANU PF. Pasi nemhandu, which loosely translates to “Mnangagwa will still be ruling in 2030, forward with ZANU PF, down with the enemy”.
In an application filed by Zimudzi’s lawyer, Obey Shava of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), pro-democracy campaigner Zimudzi alleges that Chief Seke violated several provisions of the Constitution.
She cites Section 281 of the Constitution and Section 45 of the Traditional Leaders Act, arguing that Chief Seke’s endorsement of President Mnangagwa and his pledge of allegiance to ZANU PF is unconstitutional.
Zimudzi contends that her political rights and the expectation of impartial and apolitical conduct by traditional leaders have been infringed upon.
Zimudzi claims that Chief Seke’s statements violate Sections 67(1) and (2) of the Constitution, which guarantee political rights, as well as Section 281, which mandates that traditional leaders remain impartial and non-partisan.
In her application, Zimudzi has named the National Council of Chiefs, Local Government Minister Daniel Garwe, and Attorney-General Virginia Mabhiza as respondents.
The matter is yet to be scheduled for a hearing at the High Court. Zimudzi seeks an order compelling Chief Seke to retract his partisan statements published in national newspapers and requests that the National Council of Chiefs initiate disciplinary proceedings against him.
While President Mnangagwa’s second and final term is set to expire in 2028, some of his loyalists within ZANU PF are pushing for an amendment to the Constitution that would allow him to remain in power until 2030.
However, Mnangagwa has repeatedly affirmed his commitment to stepping down at the end of his constitutionally mandated two terms in 2028.
More: Pindula News