Former finance minister and prominent lawyer Tendai Biti has been detained by police along with several activists as tensions grow over President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s bid to extend his time in office. Biti’s civic‑rights group, the Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF), said he was organising a rally in Mutare when arrested. Police have not commented and his whereabouts were not immediately clear.
The arrests come after Zimbabwe’s cabinet backed a draft constitutional amendment to lengthen presidential terms from five to seven years and to let lawmakers, rather than voters, choose the president. The changes would allow Mnangagwa to remain in office until 2030, a move that Biti, the CDF and opposition parties strongly oppose. Opponents campaigning against the amendments say they have faced beatings and intimidation.
Critics, including Bulawayo mayor David Coltart, condemned the detention and accused Mnangagwa’s ZANU‑PF of using “illegal, authoritarian and unconstitutional means” to push the changes, arguing the party lacks popular support. Mnangagwa, 83, was due to step down in 2028 after two five‑year terms; ZANU‑PF has governed since independence in 1980.
Legal challenges are expected. Constitutional experts say altering presidential term limits would require a referendum and that such amendments cannot benefit a sitting president. “Zimbabweans have got the right to approach the courts of law,” Biti said late last year.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah
