Retired military chiefs urge Zimbabweans to revolt against constitutional amendments

Retired senior military officers and former senior civil servants have called on Zimbabweans to “organise, mobilise and use every lawful method available” to oppose the recently enacted Constitutional Amendment Act, describing the changes as a betrayal of the country’s constitutional order.

In a statement issued on Friday and signed by retired Air Marshal Henry Muchena on behalf of the group, the retired officials condemned the enactment of the constitutional amendments, saying they represented an attack on the 2013 Constitution.

“Our collective conscience will not allow us to remain silent while the Constitution is dismantled in silence by a few,” the statement said.

“We make no pretence of prescribing every step that must now follow. But this much is plain: Zimbabweans must now organise, mobilise and use every lawful method available to resist and reject this constitutional abomination. Silence is no longer neutrality. Silence is complicity.”

The statement follows the signing into law of Constitutional Amendment Act No. 6 of 2026, formerly Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 (CAB3), by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on July 7.

The retired officials argued that the amendments undermined the constitutional settlement reached through the 2013 referendum.

“This is not a minor amendment. It is not an administrative adjustment. It is an assault on the constitutional covenant made in 2013 by the people of Zimbabwe, through negotiation, national consensus and referendum,” they said.

The group further likened the constitutional changes to the 1965 Unilateral Declaration of Independence, arguing that political power had been placed above the will of the people.

“Zimbabwe has, in spirit if not in form, returned to the dark logic of 11 November 1965… The law is being made to serve power, instead of power submitting to law,” the statement said.

The retired officials said any opposition to the amendments should remain peaceful and within the law.

“Our resistance must be disciplined. It must be lawful. It must be relentless,” they said.

Their intervention comes a day after a broad coalition of churches, labour unions, civic organisations, students, war veterans and opposition political leaders announced plans for nationwide peaceful mobilisation and a Constitutional Court challenge against the amendments.

The coalition, now operating as the Constitutional Restoration Movement, said it would embark on constitutional education campaigns, public meetings, petitions, prayer gatherings and peaceful demonstrations after consultations with stakeholders across the country.

Former Highfield MP Munyaradzi Gwisai said the campaign would rely on citizens exercising their constitutional rights through peaceful mass action, while Reverend Kupukwashe Mtata said the movement’s objective was to restore constitutional order through lawful means.

Constitutional Amendment Act No. 6 of 2026 replaces direct presidential elections with an indirect electoral system in which voters elect Members of Parliament, who in turn elect the President. It also extends the terms of the President and Members of Parliament from five years to seven years.

The Government and Zanu-PF say the amendments are intended to improve governance and reduce the cost of frequent elections, while critics argue they weaken democratic accountability and depart from the principles embodied in the 2013 Constitution.