Zimbabwe is again facing a dangerous moment. The ruling party wants to talk about extending the presidential term. This is not about national interest. It is about power. Nelson Chamisa has made it clear that Zimbabweans do not support any extension of the presidential term. He says this move is an attempt to extend the theft of the people’s mandate. I agree with him. A term extension is not reform. It is not progress. It is just another way to hold on to power without the people’s consent.

Instead of pushing for a term extension, the government should deal with the real problem. Zimbabwe has a serious governance crisis. The economy is broken. Elections are disputed. People are poor. Young people are leaving the country. Hospitals are struggling. Schools are underfunded. None of this is fixed by changing the constitution to suit those in power. What Zimbabwe needs is a fresh and undisputed election where the people can freely choose their leaders.

Chamisa also says the constitution has been shredded by the ruling party through repeated violations. This is true. ZANU PF has broken the constitution many times. But this does not mean the constitution no longer exists. The Democratic Change Project has said it clearly. The constitution must be defended lawfully, peacefully, and resolutely. In the streets, in the courts, and in Parliament. The constitution is our shield. Defending it means defending our future.

Jacob Ngarivhume warns us of a very dangerous idea now spreading. Some people say the constitution is a nullity and therefore not worth defending. He says this thinking is reckless. A constitution does not stop existing just because it is violated. If we say the constitution is dead because ZANU PF keeps breaking it, then we are rewarding lawbreakers. We are saying illegality works if done many times. That logic leads to permanent abuse of power and rule by force.

Ngarivhume explains it well. To declare the constitution useless because it has been breached is to accept chaos as normal. It is to accept that power can ignore the law until the law disappears. That is not renewal. That is surrender.

Gift Ostallos Siziba Timba also reminds us why the 2013 constitution matters. It is the supreme law of the land. It is the only document adopted directly by the people through a referendum. When leaders violate it, they are the ones at fault. The constitution itself remains valid. More than that, the constitution already contains the reforms Zimbabweans have demanded for years. It limits executive power. It protects free elections. It supports independent institutions, judicial independence, civil liberties, and accountability.

To abandon this constitution now is to give up the reform struggle at the worst possible time. Some say we must defend the country, not the constitution. This is confused thinking. A country is not just land and borders. The army defends territory. Citizens defend the constitutional order. Without a constitution, there is no nation. There is only force and fear.

Gwisayi adds that this is no longer just a ZANU PF resolution. It is a direct attack on the foundation of the 2013 constitution. ED2030 is an attack on popular sovereignty itself. It seeks to destroy the people’s power.

Dr Phillan Zamchiya sums it up best. To defend the country is to defend the constitution. To defend the constitution is to defend the country. Anything else is a distraction. ZANU PF wants distraction. Zimbabweans must choose resistance, law, and the future.