Police in Harare disrupted an opposition campaign launch on Tuesday aimed at resisting efforts by Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu-PF party to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term beyond 2028. Officers entered the SAPES Trust offices and ordered participants to disperse as opposition figures, including Tendai Biti, Job Sikhala, Munyaradzi Gwisai, and Jacob Ngarivhume, prepared to speak. Organizers said the event sought to mobilize public resistance against what they called a “term-extension plot” that could keep Mnangagwa in office until 2030.
Sources reported that the SAPES Trust conference room had been petrol-bombed earlier that day, allegedly by suspected state agents, causing property damage and escalating tensions. Sikhala condemned the police action, calling it a sign of “dictatorship in panic,” and promised further opposition activity.
The crackdown follows Zanu-PF’s recent Mutare Conference resolution to explore legal options for extending Mnangagwa’s presidency, a move that has intensified internal party divisions. Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s faction is reportedly opposed to the plan. Civil society leaders, including Kenneth Mtata of the World Council of Churches, warned that term extension would damage Zimbabwe’s international credibility, hinder debt relief, deter investment, and reverse democratic gains since 2017.
Sources reported that the SAPES Trust conference room had been petrol-bombed earlier that day, allegedly by suspected state agents, causing property damage and escalating tensions. Sikhala condemned the police action, calling it a sign of “dictatorship in panic,” and promised further opposition activity.
The crackdown follows Zanu-PF’s recent Mutare Conference resolution to explore legal options for extending Mnangagwa’s presidency, a move that has intensified internal party divisions. Vice President Constantino Chiwenga’s faction is reportedly opposed to the plan. Civil society leaders, including Kenneth Mtata of the World Council of Churches, warned that term extension would damage Zimbabwe’s international credibility, hinder debt relief, deter investment, and reverse democratic gains since 2017.
