Why Mnangagwa wants an extension of his term in power

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has been in government since 1980 and at the helm of state power since November 2017, is determined to survive beyond 2028, when his mandatory two-term term ends. He is doing so for a number of reasons.

Source: Why Mnangagwa wants an extension of his term in power – NewsHawks

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has been in government since 1980 and at the helm of state power since November 2017, is determined to survive beyond 2028, when his mandatory two-term term ends. He is doing so for a number of reasons.

The insatiable love of power and the domino effect that resulted from studying the late leader Robert Mugabe, who was in power for 37 years, are cited as reasons why Mnangagwa wants to remain in power.

Desire for a long life

Close sources privy to Mnangagwa’s current state of mind and mindset revealed a number of reasons why the 81-year-old leader wants to exceed the two-term limit imposed on him by the constitution.

“The first reason is his desire for longevity. This is not surprising because he is a student of the late Robert Mugabe. This is the legacy of his association and grooming,” a senior Zanu PF official said.

Mugabe was in power since independence in 1980 until he was ousted by the military in 2017.

The Appearances of Power

The sources also said Mnangagwa’s show of force means he wants to rule longer than the constitution stipulates.

“He knows nothing but power. He is the only surviving minister who has been in the cabinet since 1980. He is not ready to be an ordinary citizen now. He loves power as is evident from how happy he was to become the rotating chairman of Sadc,” another source said.

“Moreover, he fought long and hard to become president, particularly with the faction led by the late General Solomon Mujuru. He also fought against former Vice President Joice Mujuru after the general’s death and eventually seized power in a coup.”

After independence, Mnangagwa held a series of senior cabinet positions under Mugabe. From 1980 to 1988, he was the country’s first Minister of State Security, overseeing the Central Intelligence Organisation.

Mnangagwa served as Minister of Justice, Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs from 1989 to 2000, and then Speaker of Parliament from 2000 to 2005. In 2005, he was demoted to Minister of Rural Housing after openly competing to succeed the aging Mugabe.

Mnangagwa returned to favour in the 2008 general election, running Mugabe’s campaign as his chief election agent and orchestrating political violence against the opposition Movement for Democratic Change party, then led by the temperamental Morgan Tsvangirai, now deceased.

Mnangagwa then served as defence minister from 2009 until 2013, when he again became justice minister. He was appointed first vice president in 2014 and was widely seen as the leading candidate to succeed Mugabe.

Although Mugabe’s wife Grace Mugabe and her Generation 40 political group opposed Mnangagwa’s takeover, he became president in a military coup in November 2017.

He controversially won the 2018 election and secured a second term after controversially winning the 2023 election again. A cabinet minister since 1980, Mnangagwa has enjoyed unbridled freebies over the past four decades.

Benefits of being a head of state and government

According to our sources, Mnangagwa also wants to stay longer because he is concerned about losing the benefits he receives as Zimbabwe’s leader.

Mnangagwa enjoys hefty benefits, tight security and feeds on money from the government trough where he

Why Mnangagwa wants an extension of his term is that he is essentially getting everything for free.

Incentives

Mnangagwa also has access to lucrative government tenders that are doled out to his blue-eyed sons, as confirmed by the recently leaked audio recording of Wicknel Chivayo bragging to his former colleagues Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu about how his closeness to the president enabled him to access government tenders.

As they feuded over the sharing of proceeds from a secret $100 million deal from the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to supply election materials, Chivayo boasted that he could influence government tenders because he had a strong grip on Mnangagwa.

“The incentives include having an edge in getting tenders for his cronies, gifts from wealthy associates and freebies, some of which border on bribery. His children are in mining and many commercial activities as a direct result of his presidency. His wife is deeply involved in a number of deals, including the Belarus deals,” the source said.

Human rights violations

The sources also say Mnangagwa is desperate to stay on longer because he fears retaliation for alleged past transgressions.

Mnangagwa’s alleged role in the Gukurahundi massacres, in which 20,000 civilians, mostly Ndebele, were killed by a North Korean-trained 5th Brigade in the Midlands and Matabeleland regions during his tenure as Minister of State Security, is well documented.

According to the sources, the 2008 pre-election kidnappings, the killings during the 2008 re-elections and the killing of protesters by the military on August 1, 2018 in Harare, among a series of other human rights violations, could also trigger unrest.

After Mugabe lost the election to Tsvangirai, Mnangagwa played a key role in retaining his then boss after a brutal campaign.

There have also been new cases of arrests and detentions of human rights defenders and dozens of other opposition activists.

Fear of corruption cases

Since Mnangagwa came to power in 2017, many of the companies that have made “mega deals” with Zimbabwe have ties to him, his family or cronies in government.

Not much came of the deals, partly because of the questionable track records of the investors involved.

At the start of his term, Mnangagwa claimed to have brought in $11 billion in business for the country.

However, it later turned out that most of the deals that were made were shady and run by shady characters.

In a four-part investigative documentary by Al Jazeera called “The Gold Mafia,” Mnangagwa emerged as Mario Puzo’s Vito Corleone (Brando) – The Godfather or simply mafia boss.

The investigation found that several gold smuggling syndicates that plunder gold and funnel the proceeds into accounts abroad have one thing in common: they have ties to Mnangagwa.

The film’s key characters who dragged Mnangagwa into the maelstrom of action include his own envoy and ambassador-at-large Uebert Angel, a self-proclaimed prophet who is a key interlocutor in the documentary (Diplomatic Mafia), Rikki Doolan (Diplomatic Mafia), Ewan Macmillan (Mr Gold), Kamlesh Pattni (Gold Dealer Brother Paul) and Alistair Mathias (Gold Trader — The Architect).

Mnangagwa’s wife Auxillia, the First Lady, and Pedzai “Scott” Sakupwanya (New Mr Gold) kept the president firmly at the centre of the action in the final episode.

A gold smuggler described Mnangagwa – referred to in some cases as Mr Jones – as his business partner.

Another told about him having an on-again, off-again relationship with someone he still sees.

A third said he had to keep the president informed about the gold smuggling.

Fear of military reprisals

Given the feud between Mnangagwa and the military following the 2017 coup, the aging leader may not feel secure enough to relinquish power.

Mnangagwa, who calls himself Munhumutapa, a reference to the historic Shona kings, was due to leave in 2023 under a deal with the military but clung to power, resulting in the aftermath.

He also promised to significantly improve conditions for the military, but this did not happen, only making the consequences worse.

Mnangagwa therefore fears that the army will retaliate if he relinquishes power.