SUPPORTERS pushing for an extension of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tenure beyond the constitutionally-mandated two terms are committing treason and Zanu PF should take action against them, the party’s central committee member and war veteran Blessing Geza has said.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with HSTv, an Alpha Media Holdings online television and radio channel, Geza expressed concern by former liberation veterans over a Zanu PF resolution to extend Mnangagwa’s term to 2030 at the party’s 21st national people’s conference in Bulawayo recently.
Mnangagwa has, however, insisted that he would leave office in 2028 when he completes his second and final term in office. However, this has not deterred his supporters mainly from Midlands, Masvingo and, lately, Mashonaland Central provinces to call for him to extend his tenure.
The push for a term extension has also stoked divisions among the rank and file in the ruling party with suspicions that the 2030 manoeuvres are targeted to derail Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who is tipped to take the baton from Mnangagwa.
In an interview this week, Geza said he was sad with the Bulawayo resolution.
“I was at the conference and I thought I was saddened… First and foremost, we have a Constitution which must be respected by everybody.
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“The President himself took an oath of office to respect the Constitution of Zimbabwe. They took the oath of office so they could protect and defend the Constitution of Zimbabwe but they are not doing that.
“They are committing treason. Those people must be arrested and those people must be fired from Zanu PF. We want to see those people charged.”
Geza said war veterans were against the push for a term extension and were concerned by the possible constitutional violations being pursued by Mnangagwa’s supporters.
“I mean because the party has been hijacked even if you go to structures, all those (army) generals were “fired” from the party” he said.
The former Sanyati legislator also said the war veterans would not let newcomers dictate what happens in the ruling party.
“Zanu PF is a product of Zanla and Zipra, the people's movement but they are not even being recognised, you know, right? They are attacking the Constitution,” he said.
“They don't even talk about the armed struggle. They don't talk about the opposition. Mark my words, that will never happen, not under our watch.”
Geza also attacked Mnangagwa for failing to unite the party after the 2017 coup that catapulted him to power.
“The president was supposed to take the opportunity of uniting the nation so that it moves forward. He failed but people, you see, know when the president came back from South Africa, is this happening?
“But these people [ED2030 brigade] are a security threat and on this issue, the JOC [Joint Operation Command] must take action, the service chiefs must take action.
“Are our laws not sufficient enough to deal with such things?
“These 2030s are doing what they want right? They are doing what they want to the President, you know. It's unfortunate. The role which we played, we are being sidelined, we have been sidelined but I blame ourselves because they say they are in control,”
He said Zimbabwe was a constitutional democracy underpinned by the 2013 Constitution which made a binding decision to ensure that a president serves a maximum of two five-year terms.
“Mnangagwa was elected in 2018 and his two terms end in 2028 and he cannot go beyond that unless the Constitution is changed.
“And even if the Constitution is changed, it also puts a safety net in it, which says that the incumbent or the person who presides over that constitutional change must not benefit from it,” Geza said.