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OpenMnangagwa's Pledge Not To Seek Third Term Insincere - Analysts
Political commentators have expressed scepticism regarding President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s recent public declaration that he does not intend to run for a third term as president.
Addressing a crowd of Zanu PF supporters at the commissioning of the Mutare Teachers College’s fruit juice and water processing plant on July 4, Mnangagwa said he will retire after completing his current and final term.
However, the comments have drawn scepticism from political observers.
Walter Mzembi, a former Foreign Affairs Minister who is currently in self-imposed exile, has described Mnangagwa’s statement as a mere “public relations stunt” ahead of the upcoming SADC Summit to be hosted in Zimbabwe next month. Mzembi wrote on X:
Ahead of the SADC Summit announcing that he will abide by the Constitution, serve his two terms and retire by 2028 is a very good PR Stunt by ED…
His script was flowing smoothly until he punctuated it by referring to himself as Munhumutapa! Munhumutapas are Kings they die in office.
The Munhumutapa was the title held by the ruler of the Munhumutapa Empire, also known as the Mutapa Empire – a powerful kingdom that dominated the region encompassing present-day Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and parts of Zambia during the 15th and 16th centuries.
Brighton Mutebuka, a UK-based Zimbabwean academic, cautioned Mnangagwa’s political rivals within ZANU PF against taking the president’s recent statements about not seeking a third term at face value.
In a post on X, Mutebuka argued that ZANU PF does not have a history of facilitating peaceful transfers of power, and therefore Mnangagwa’s rivals should be aware that he is unlikely to voluntarily relinquish the presidency at the end of his current term. Said Mutebuka:
My take is that caution still needs to be taken pertaining to whether or not today’s announcement is grounded in sincerity.
It really was a damp squib and bordered on feebleness …. a sort of anti-climatic capitulation and wholly uncharacteristic of political gladiators of his ilk.
It leaves one feeling that there is another instalment in store … more twists and turns before the finale. As we saw with Robert Mugabe, figures of history such as these rarely bow out without drama.
They find power terribly addictive and the corridors of power irresistible. They almost always feel drawn towards giving it one more shot before the coup de grace, which often makes for a dramatic and unforgettable exit!
Final take? It’s not over until it’s finally over. All the leading gladiators should sleep with their eyes open!
There is a reason why there has never been a peaceful and democratic succession in ZANU PF and Zimbabwe since independence – from the Mgagao Declaration to November 2017!
The Mgagao Declaration, authored by young military officers at the main ZANLA training camp in Tanzania during the height of the liberation struggle in November 1975, laid the foundation for two significant historical events.
The declaration led to the removal of Rev Ndabaningi Sithole as the leader of ZANU and the subsequent elevation of Robert Mugabe as the new leader of ZANU during a special congress at Chimoio in 1977.
Additionally, it reaffirmed the belief among fighters that armed struggle was the only way to seize power from the Rhodesian government, contrasting with the detente negotiations involving Sithole, Abel Muzorewa, and Joshua Nkomo
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