Resistance to plans to extend the term of office of President Emmerson Mnangagwa is intensifying after a group of retired generals and senior civil servants who are ex-combatants warned that any constitutional amendments must be decided by Zimbabweans through a referendum.
In a written submission dated March 12 to the Clerk of Parliament during the public consultation process on the proposed constitutional changes, the group have urged President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa to set aside personal or political interests and allow Zimbabweans to decide on the proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill (H.B 1, 2026) through a national referendum.
The former commanders argued that the amendments should not be adopted without direct approval from citizens.
The submission, signed by Air Marshal (Retired) Henry Muchena on behalf of retired generals and senior civil servants who are ex-combatants, said the proposed amendments risk undermining the principle that political power in Zimbabwe derives from the people.
“We call on Parliament to do the right thing and submit these proposed amendments to a national referendum, as democratic principles demand. Anything less is not a constitutional amendment.
“It is a betrayal not of us, but of every Zimbabwean who ever dared to hope for a better country,” the group said.
They said if the proposed changes were genuinely in the national interest, the government should allow citizens to decide through a referendum rather than leaving the decision to Members of Parliament alone.
“If these amendments are truly in the national interest, let them be put to the people. Call a referendum. Let the same Zimbabweans who gave us that Constitution speak again,” the submission reads.
The former liberation war commanders said they were making their position in terms of Section 328(4) of the Constitution, which requires Parliament to invite public input on constitutional amendments.
They warned that allowing only legislators to determine the fate of the proposed constitutional changes would undermine the principle of universal suffrage, a central demand of the liberation struggle.
The group said the proposed changes appeared to shift decision-making power away from ordinary citizens and place it in the hands of a small political elite.
“We fought so that every Zimbabwean, regardless of wealth, status or political affiliation, would have an equal and inviolable voice,” they said.
In their submission, the former commanders also invoked the legacy of the liberation struggle and the founding principles of the ruling party, Zanu‑PF, arguing that the revolution was built on the idea that power belongs to the people.
They warned that altering the Constitution without consulting citizens would betray the values for which liberation fighters sacrificed their lives.
The group also referenced the leadership doctrine articulated in 2002 by the late General Vitalis Zvinavashe, saying leaders should align themselves with the values of the party and the will of the people rather than reshaping national institutions for personal ambitions.
While stressing their loyalty to both the ruling party and the President, the former commanders said Zimbabwe’s Constitution belongs to all citizens and cannot be altered solely through parliamentary processes if the changes affect the people’s sovereign rights.
“We are Zanu-PF. We have always been Zanu-PF. We will die Zanu-PF,” the group said.
“But the national Constitution is not Zanu-PF’s property. It belongs to every Zimbabwean.”
The former commanders said they were not rebelling against the government but exercising their democratic right to express their views during the public debate on the proposed amendments.
“We remain loyal to the party, loyal to the nation, and loyal above all to the people of Zimbabwe,” they said.
The Constitutional Amendment No. 3 Bill is currently under parliamentary review, with the legislature inviting written and oral submissions from members of the public.
