WE HEAR THAT PRESIDENT MNANGAGWA HAS ASKED TO MEET RETIRED AND CURRENT GENERALS AGAIN TODAY.

By Reason Wafawarova – We hear that President Mnangagwa has requested another meeting with retired and serving generals. If accurate, this would reportedly be the third such engagement within a month.

There is nothing unusual about a Commander-in-Chief consulting military leadership, particularly when a matter with potential national security implications is generating growing political tension.

As I have argued before, the fundamental challenge facing Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 is not merely legal opposition. The bigger challenge is the apparent absence of broad institutional consensus.

The Bill remains deeply contested within sections of the political establishment, namely within ZANU-PF structures, among war veterans, within civil society, and, according to numerous reports and public statements, among current and retired members of the security establishment.

The difficulty for CAB3 is that constitutional legitimacy cannot be manufactured indefinitely through procedure alone. Durable constitutional change requires broad political acceptance and institutional confidence.

Zimbabwe has experienced enough political crises over the last two decades. The country does not need another prolonged confrontation over succession, constitutionalism, or political legitimacy.

For that reason, dialogue is welcome. We understand the Retired Generals are negotiating no less than a suspension, withdrawal or publicly announced abandonment of CAB 3. Any middle ground has to be within these three options.

The President will be appraised of possible alternative action, remedies, and resorts, should an amicable solution prove to be unachievable.

We hope all parties approach these engagements with a nation-building mindset and a commitment to preserving constitutional order, political stability, and national unity.

The most important objective now is not victory for one faction or another. It is avoiding a situation where political disagreements evolve into an institutional crisis.

That is as good as inevitable right now.

The mandate of ZANU-PF party structures, Parliament, the Judiciary, Cabinet and the State itself has to be restored – redeemed from the financially powerful parallel structures.

The closer Zimbabwe moves toward consensus, the further it moves away from uncertainty.