Political activist and Ibhetshu Likazulu secretary-general Mbuso Fuzwayo has fiercely rejected allegations that he is part of a Zanu-PF-sponsored plot to legitimise President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s alleged bid to extend his term beyond 2028, describing the claims as malicious attempts to discredit him.
Fuzwayo recently faced a backlash after approaching the Constitutional Court over plans by Zanu PF to extend President Mnangagwa’s stay in office, with critics accusing him of fronting a “sham” court challenge designed to fail and create a legal opening for the so-called 2030 ambition.
However, in an interview with CITE, Fuzwayo dismissed the allegations as “jokes” manufactured by people who previously supported President Mnangagwa when he rose to power through the 2017 military coup.
The activist said people know him for his long-standing human rights work in Matabeleland and anyone suggesting Zanu PF is using him is either misinformed or was deliberately malicious.
“These are jokes. Even Zanu is shocked that it can use me. Zanu does not come to where I am. Whoever thinks I have been sent by Zanu, I don’t know what they would have smoked, perhaps dangerous weed,” he said.
“Me and Zanu will never work for each other. I will never agree to be used by Zanu, especially knowing how Zanu abuses people. To me, Zanu is guilty of killing people, guilty of destroying the economy. Their priorities are misplaced. Look at the President giving out money when the country has no ambulances and sewers are bursting everywhere. There is nothing that can ever mix me with Zanu.”
Fuzwayo said the accusations were pushed by opportunistic commentators and lawyers who misrepresented his constitutional challenge for personal gain and online traction.
“The one who sings the song knows it, the ones who are saying I have been given money are used to being given money from Zanu. let’s not say their names because at Ibhetshu we respect people. The ones who are saying I have been given money are the ones used to being given money by Zanu,” he said.
“Some are lawyers who have represented Zanu but pretend to be holy when speaking to the public. We know them.”
Fuzwayo accused some of his critics of hypocrisy, saying those attacking him publicly supported President Mnangagwa when the military removed former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017.
“We never approved of Emmerson’s candidature when the coup was done in 2017. Yet some who are saying I was given money are the same ones who said, ‘let’s give him a chance.’” he said.
“We knew even then that giving Emmerson a chance would change nothing. Those who supported the coup are now pretending they hate him more than everyone.”
He said these same individuals were again misleading the public by creating conspiracies around the court application.
“People with no foresight supported Emmerson in 2017 during the coup. Now they are being cheated again by these same crooks. I will not support Emmerson come rain or sun,” he said.
“ I don’t want anything that associates me with Emmerson or those who abuse Zimbabweans.We wish for people to have better dignity, where people are allowed to have different views. That we have gone to court to fight Emmerson’s thing to extend the term is our right.”
Fuzwayo has said the controversy began after a draft of the Constitutional Court application, which was still being refined, leaked on social media and quickly became the subject of speculation.
He said the leak attracted opportunistic “friends of the court” who began spreading rumours that he was being used to pave the way for Mnangagwa to continue in office.
The activist also argued that the loudest critics were individuals who once validated the very system they now oppose.
“Many of them are ‘friends of the court’ today, but they are the same people who went to court to say the coup was legal,” he said.
According to Fuzwayo, the application is a legitimate legal effort by citizens to resist Mnangagwa’s alleged term-extension ambitions.
“We have always gone to court against the government,” he said.
“Going to court now is not new. People who know our work know that the 2030 plan must be resisted either through protests or through the courts.”
He criticised those attacking him without offering alternative strategies.
“Those criticising us say we are extending Emmerson’s stay, yet they are not saying how the 2030 plan should be stopped. They are just pointing fingers. I don’t understand. If we stay quiet, how will that help?” he asked.
Fuzwayo insisted that challenging the Executive’s overreach through the courts is a legitimate democratic action.
“Going to court is one of the efforts to resist 2030, it is not the last resort. If others have different methods, we are willing to support them so we fight this together,” he said.
He said although the accusations were frustrating, he remained confident people who know his track record would not be swayed by the misinformation.
“This talk can affect my campaign or not, but sensible people who know my work and the work we have done with others know our record of fighting for proper rule,” Fuzwayo said.
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