THE LONG SHADOW OF POWER: MNANGAGWA’S STRIDE TOWARDS A THIRD TERM

In December 2018, amidst the historic setting of Mzingwane High School, Esigodini, a political saga unfolded as Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa took to the stage at the Zanu PF Annual National People’s Conference. With the sun-soaked earth of Bulawayo 40 kilometres to the north, and around 5,000 party delegates awaiting his address, Mnangagwa’s message was clear: to rally the party’s strength after the coup a year earlier and set his eyes on the 2023 elections.

Although he had only been in his new term for three months and 18 days, having assumed office on 26 August 2018, Mnangagwa’s political ambitions were already sharply focused on the future. At the crux of his tenure was a precarious agreement with his co-deputy, Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga, that saw him holding the reins for a single term before passing the mantle. The contours of this agreement were etched out in the November 2017 coup, an event that saw the end of Robert Mugabe’s 37-year reign, and which had Chiwenga as its mastermind, with Mnangagwa being the civilian protagonist.

However, the ink of alliance soon faded as Mnangagwa, after tasting power, distanced himself from the pact, embarking on a ruthless excising of his former allies to pave way for a second term. Whispers of a third term now echo through the corridors of power, as Mnangagwa’s focus seems to have shifted further beyond the horizon, in spite of a recent, highly contested election victory that left him with a chink in his political armour due to claims of fraudulence.

Fast-forward to the post-election scenario, and Mnangagwa’s political machinery is tirelessly working to marginalise the main opposition, the CCC, in parliament. His aim? To clinch a two-thirds majority, a stepping stone to amend the constitution that could clear his path towards a third term post-2028.

Now, as the octogenarian leader, officially 81, though speculated to be 85, manoeuvres through the political chessboard, the stakes are high. If the plans unfold in Mnangagwa’s favour, he would be at the helm till 2033, finishing his term at a grand age of 91, or 96 as per the whispers.

The backdrop to this political drama is a Zimbabwe grappling with a severe socio-economic crisis, a tempest that has been brewing over 43 years of Zanu PF’s reign, marked by governance missteps and policy blunders. Mnangagwa’s relentless ambition casts a long shadow on Zimbabwe’s political landscape, a terrain that has been battered by winds of change but where power seems to be clinging to old branches.

The spectacle at Esigodini was not merely a conference, but a tableau reflecting Mnangagwa’s ambitions, entwined with Zimbabwe’s uncertain political destiny. Each move on the political board not only delineates Mnangagwa’s enduring quest for power but also the perpetual state of flux Zimbabwe finds itself in.

With each chess move, Mnangagwa is not just extending his political lifespan but is shaping the narrative of a nation whose political heartbeat resonates with every stride Mnangagwa takes towards an extended reign. The shadows of the past coup linger, the political machinations roll on, and the eye of ambition continues to look beyond, as Zimbabwe navigates the choppy waters of its political saga.