‘Zim will become ungovernable if you extend stay in office,’ Mnangagwa warned

ZAPU has declared that any attempt by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his rule beyond 2028 will be met with resistance if he attempts to remain in office without an electoral mandate.
While dismissing any support for a coup, ZAPU insisted on fair elections in 2028 where Mnangagwa must step down.
ZAPU leader, Sibangilizwe Nkomo, warned that Mnangagwa’s administration would witness unprecedented opposition as Zimbabweans were fed up.
“Mnangagwa sneaked into power on the back of a military coup in 2017 and now seeks to extend his rule by staging another coup against the constitution of Zimbabwe. It is a treasonous ambition that no patriotic Zimbabwean should entertain,” he said while addressing journalists in Bulawayo recently.
Nkomo described what President Mnangagwa is trying to achieve as “the grandfather of all illegalities.”
“Our considered view is that this chicanery dates back to 1980 when Zanu stole the people’s votes after we attained our independence from colonial rule,” said the ZAPU leader.
“Zanu PF chose to replace the colonial regime, inspired and instructed by the Rhodesian era, and continues to take the citizens of Zimbabwe for granted. The people, along with ZAPU and even the ancestors, are fed up.”
Nkomo dismissed the Zanu PF national conference held in Bulawayo in October 2024, where delegates resolved to extend Mnangagwa’s presidential term from 2028 to 2030, allegedly to oversee the fulfillment of ‘Vision 2030’ as deceitful.
“Today, we join the growing list of organisations and patriotic Zimbabweans refuting these claims by Zanu PF representatives. The list now includes genuine war veterans tired of watching in silence as the country is driven deeper into the woods by the clueless Mr. Mnangagwa,” Nkomo said.
“We categorically reject claims that Zimbabweans wish to endure more suffering beyond 2028. Only the merchants of death and suffering can agitate for the extension of Mr Mnangagwa’s presidential term even by a week. His first term, powered by a military coup, and the second one, secured from a stolen mandate in August 2023, have been disastrous enough for the people.”
“There is no vision that Mr Mnangagwa is presiding over. There is no iota of evidence to suggest that in 2030, Zimbabwe will provide upper-middle income for ordinary Zimbabweans.”
Nkomo reiterated ZAPU’s position, declaring any attempt by President Mnangagwa to extend his rule beyond 2028 will be met by the resistance “it deserves.”
“Mnangagwa’s administration will see a side of us they have never witnessed before. We will take the lead in making this country ungovernable as long as there is no electoral mandate from the people. We will only respect the will of the people derived from free and fair elections in 2028, as prescribed by the constitution,” he said.
“We also call on the people of Zimbabwe to withdraw their consent and refuse to be governed by Mr Mnangagwa’s government beyond 2028. Civil disobedience will be encouraged while further steps to undermine Mnangagwa’s rule will be considered should his rogue regime foolishly choose to dig in.”
Nkomo urged the president to abandon his plans alleging he will be “remembered as a greater failure than his predecessor Robert Mugabe.”
“Mr Mnangagwa, whether you are genuinely on leave or working with your proxies behind the scenes, we urge you to abandon this mindless journey to nowhere. You have caused enough damage,” he said.
“Should you extend your misrule beyond 2028, a new definition for failure will have to be devised. There is nothing divine about you to warrant granting you a free pass to rule Zimbabwe indefinitely. We shall stop you in your tracks, and your military backing will be of no use. The people who liberated this country and their ZPRA and ZANLA freedom fighters no longer want you as President of Zimbabwe. Even the Church is now praying for your peaceful departure in 2028.”
Nkomo also called upon all Zimbabweans to stand firm in defense of the constitution.
“This is by no means a call to arms but an invitation for patriotic duty. Nonetheless, we remain alive to the reality that in our totalitarian environment, many will be cowed into submission by Zanu PF’s well-known terror tactics,” said the ZAPU leader.
The ZAPU leader said President Mnangagwa’s term extension bid had elite backers who had vested interests in the extension of his term of office.
He, however, warned history is awash with examples of regimes that were toppled through protests and other forms of popular uprising.
“The demise of many despotic rulers has often been bloody and pitiful. Zanu PF is setting up Mr Mnangagwa for this inevitable fate,” Nkomo said.
Given the ‘tense’ factionalism at play in Zanu PF, ZAPU National Chairperson, John Zolani Dlamini, emphasised the party’s commitment to democracy, stating they would not support any coup takeover in Zimbabwe.
“We are a democratic party, following constitutional principles, both national and party constitutions. We don’t promote or support actions like coups. ZAPU wants all Zimbabweans to agree and head for elections. Whoever wins, wins in a fair election. That is why we are saying 2028 there should be elections. If anything should come before that, we are not part of that,” Dlamini said.