By A Correspondent | President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s special advisor Paul Tungwarara has used a religious gathering to legitimise the President’s continued rule, at a time when the extension of that rule is being challenged in the Constitutional Court.

Tungwarara said on Friday he had attended a service at PHD Ministries, but his public account of the event went beyond worship and moved directly into political endorsement.

“Last night I had the privilege of joining thousands of believers at PHD Ministries to celebrate the 43rd birthday of Prophet Walter Magaya, during a powerful Night of Turnaround,” Tungwarara said.

“It was a blessed time of worship, of learning from the Word of God, and of united prayer for our beloved nation, Zimbabwe, and for our leader, His Excellency President Dr. E.D. Mnangagwa. May God continue to grant him wisdom and strength as he leads our nation towards Vision 2030,” he said.

The reference to Vision 2030 is not neutral. In Zimbabwe’s current political context, Vision 2030 has become inseparable from Constitutional Amendment Act No. 3, which extended the presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years and removed the direct election of the President by the people.

That Act is now the subject of multiple challenges before the Constitutional Court, with applicants arguing that it was passed without proper consultation, without a referendum, and in violation of section 328(7), which bars an amendment extending time in office from benefiting a sitting office holder.

By praying publicly for Mnangagwa to be strengthened to lead towards Vision 2030, Tungwarara placed divine authority behind a political project that the courts have yet to validate.

“We also prayed for our youths, that they stay away from drug and substance abuse, and that they rise up as a generation of purpose, faith and productivity. Our young people are the future of this nation, and we must protect them,” he said.

The prayer for youths, while important, does not erase the political context. Zimbabwe’s drug crisis has deepened under Mnangagwa’s government, while youth unemployment and economic hardship continue to push young people into despair and migration. Critics argue that prayer without policy accountability offers comfort to leaders while leaving the conditions that drive drug abuse untouched.

“Happy birthday, Prophet Magaya. May the Lord continue to use you mightily for His Kingdom and for the upliftment of our people,” he said.

“Together in faith, we build Zimbabwe,” he said.

But the question raised by Tungwarara’s appearance is not about faith. It is about power.

When a presidential advisor uses a church platform with thousands of believers to bless a contested extension of presidential power, worship becomes a tool of political legitimation. The church is no longer a neutral space for spiritual reflection. It becomes a stage where the extension of one man’s rule is presented as God’s will.

Zimbabwe’s Constitution, not a church service, must decide how long a president serves and how he is chosen.