BULAWAYO – A constitutional court application allegedly being prepared in Bulawayo is said to be part of a covert plan to secure a judicial ruling that would appear to legitimise the extension of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term to 2030, by deliberately seeking a dismissal that could later be cited as legal precedent.
According to reports, the scheme allegedly involves using the courts to create the appearance of legality for a predetermined political outcome.
The case would ostensibly challenge the “2030” agenda, but would in fact be designed to fail, allowing the dismissal to be used as a legal precedent to justify an extension of Mnangagwa’s presidency.
Award-winning journalist Hopewell Chin’ono said he spoke to Mbuso Fuzwayo of Ibhetshu Likazulu, who confirmed that he was approached by Sengezo Tshabangu’s lawyer, Nqobani Sithole, to front the constitutional application.
Fuzwayo reportedly said he initially did not know the wider motives behind the plan and was told that the final draft of the application would later be brought to him for signing on behalf of himself and his organisation.
However, Fuzwayo has since distanced himself from the move, telling Chin’ono that he will not sign the documents after learning of what he described as a “broader scheme” to manipulate the legal process.
He reportedly said the real intention was for the application to be dismissed, allowing that dismissal to later serve as a legal justification for the 2030 agenda.
Chin’ono added that his judicial sources identified two Bulawayo-based applicants, Fuzwayo and Likazulu, who were lined up to appear in the case.
He also alleged that the application was drafted by a young advocate linked to Itayi Ndudzo, the Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution for Mashonaland East and a Zanu–PF legislator.
In his account, Chin’ono described the alleged plan as a “manufactured legitimacy” strategy, using the courts not to seek justice, but to create a legal foundation for political ambitions.
He drew parallels with a previous case in which University of Zimbabwe student Romeo Taombera Zibani challenged the Judicial Service Commission’s Chief Justice selection process in a manner that ultimately supported the government’s preferred outcome.
“This tactic mirrors previous manoeuvres where the judiciary was manipulated to produce outcomes that served political ends rather than justice,” Chin’ono stated.
“It represents a dangerous trend in which the law is twisted to manufacture legitimacy, eroding public trust in the courts and turning them into instruments of political expediency rather than constitutional guardianship.”
Prominent constitutional lawyer Thabani Mpofu also appeared to respond indirectly to the controversy, warning against young legal practitioners who compromise ethics for personal gain.
“I have trained a lot of kids, a lot of them are competent bastards but a few are terrorists loyal only to money and to the love for fame,” Mpofu said.
“Don’t trespass when it comes to this one; no one will ever forgive you.”
Mnangagwa’s camp within Zanu-PF is desperately pushing for the extension of his term of office beyond 2028.
The plan is, however, facing fierce resistance from Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga who has always been seen as the next Zanu-PF leader after Mnangagwa’s second term expires in 2028.
In the past few months, the Zanu-PF leader has been restructuring party organs and military wings in order to sideline Chiwenga’s allies. A cabinet reshuffle that will see the fall of some ministers aligned with the former Army General, is reportedly looming.
