Editor’s Note: Rewriting the Rules to Stay in Power Echoes Mugabe-Era Authoritarian Tactics

Zimbabwe stands at a perilous crossroads. As momentum builds behind proposed constitutional amendments that would allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his rule beyond the two-term limit enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe, a troubling sense of déjàvu emerges. The tactics being employed, from manipulating legal frameworks, silencing dissent, and weakening democratic institutions, echo the very tactics the late former President Robert Mugabe employed to hold onto power for 37 years.

Since 2017, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) led administration has steadily intensified efforts to close civic space and criminalize opposition. A raft of repressive laws including the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act (MOPA), the Patriotic Act, the Cybersecurity and Data Protection Act, and now the Private Voluntary Organizations (PVO) Act have signaled a systematic legal assault on freedoms of assembly, association, and expression. These legislative clampdowns have been accompanied by political violence, intimidation, and a coordinated erosion of electoral integrity, as seen in the disputed 2018 and 2023 elections.

Today marks 12 years since Zimbabwe formally adopted its Constitution on 22 May 2013, a landmark achievement born out of nationwide consensus and hard-fought compromise. Zimbabweans who participated in the outreach consultations made a clarion call to have a constitution that is insulated from manipulation by the ruling elites. The constitution was, therefore, crafted to insulate the nation from precisely this kind of authoritarian regression. Any attempt to dismantle its core provisions without transparent public consultation or a referendum is not only unconstitutional, but a direct threat to democratic governance and constitutionalism. Such a move is not only dangerous but would reduce the constitution to a political tool of convenience, rather than the binding social contract it was intended to be between the state and its citizens.

Therefore, we present to you this edition as part of our campaign to protect and defend the constitution. We amplify critical voices from Zimbabwe’s youth, women, informal sector, and diaspora constituencies whose perspectives are vital in resisting the capture of the nation's future for political expediency. The Coalition firmly posits that the direction of the country must be determined by its people, guided by the rule of law, informed by historical lessons, and grounded in democratic principles.

Happy reading!