The Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZPRA) Veterans Association has warned that amending the National Constitution to allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa a third term could lead to severe consequences, including bloodshed.
At a press conference on Thursday at the Bulawayo Media Centre, ZPRA Veterans Association National Spokesperson Buster Magwizi voiced support for fellow war veterans who recently opposed the proposed extension of Mnangagwa’s term beyond 2028. Said Magwizi (via <a href="https://cite.org.zw/zpra-veterans-warn-of-instability-if-constitution-is-violated/">CITE</a>):
<blockquote>
Our solidarity is not just a message of solidarity. It is an expanded contribution to political correctness.
The veterans who stood out in a press briefing last week led by Blessed Runesu Geza in Harare were very correct because no one else dares to advise the government correctly on what to do or the leadership on what is straight and what is crooked. We hold the sanctity of the constitution sacrosanct.
</blockquote>
Magwizi criticized those who dismissed the veterans who spoke in Harare as “mad, crazy, and biased,” accusing them of seeking to benefit from corruption.
He was referring to Douglas Mahiya, the ZANU PF Secretary for War Veterans, Ex-Political Prisoners, Detainees, and Restrictees.
Mahiya argued that Geza’s sentiments did not represent the position of war veterans but were pushing a foreign agenda to cause disharmony within the party.
Deputy National Spokesperson for the ZPRA Veterans Association, Joakim Moyo, condemned the push for a third term, calling it fraudulent and a direct assault on the constitution. Said Moyo:
<blockquote>
There has been a litany of injustices which make us sick as ZPRA veterans. We have always stood as people advocating for political correctness, and we are prepared to go down, dying doing the same thing.
We are a people who want to adhere to the Constitution as a national guide and live by it. The spirit and the flesh of it should be observed by everyone, regardless of size.
Probably let me get down to the constitution and say, we stand ready to defend the constitution of Zimbabwe, and would like to warn all those pushing the 2030 mantra that it is fraudulent.
The current constitution was arrived at as a nationally driven issue. Everybody was consulted and everybody spoke.
And our constitution observed the democratic principles that underlie what you call a democracy.
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Pindula News

The ZPRA Veterans Association in Zimbabwe is warning that changing the Constitution to let President Mnangagwa have a third term could lead to serious consequences, like violence. They support other war veterans who oppose this change. Some people are calling the veterans crazy, but the veterans say they are standing up for what is right. They believe in following the Constitution and will defend it. They think changing the Constitution is not fair and goes against democracy. They are ready to fight to protect the Constitution.

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