Former Zengeza West legislator and opposition leader Job Sikhala has called for the rejection of proposed constitutional amendments reportedly aimed at extending President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term of office to 2030.
Addressing members of the media at a press conference, Sikhala criticised what he described as efforts by the government to impose unpopular changes without subjecting them to a referendum.
“The regime is trying to force down…their unpopular constitutional amendments without taking them to the referendum and the people of Zimbabwe are resisting and the people of Zimbabwe don’t want this constitutional amendment,” he said.
He appealed to regional and continental bodies, including the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU) to intervene and help address the situation.
“Our expectation from SADC…is that we are appealing to their conscience to understand that the crisis in Zimbabwe…now is the time to act,” he said.
Sikhala highlighted the importance of African-led solutions to African problems urging regional leaders to take responsibility in resolving the country’s issues.
“We don’t want our problems in Africa to be solved by other forces outside our own continent…we are appealing to the conscience of our own people in Africa to solve our own African problem that we are facing as Zimbabwe,” he said.
He warned that failure by regional bodies to act could leave Zimbabweans with no option but to determine their own course of action.
“Failure to them doing that, the Zimbabwean people will have a collective decision on how to mitigate their own problem,” Sikhala added.
