HARARE
–
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
on
Monday
insisted
that
be
will
leave
office
as
planned
when
his
second
and
final
term
expires
in
2028
as
he
sought
to
tamper
rising
anger
over
a
push
by
some
of
his
loyalists
to
amend
the
constitution
to
scrap
presidential
term
limits.
Mnangagwa
used
a
meeting
with
selected
editors
on
Monday
to
restate
that
he
had
no
ambitions
of
either
extending
his
term
beyond
2028,
or
seeking
a
new
term
after
controversial
constitutional
amendments.
He
said:
“I’m
very
clear
that
I
have
two
terms,
and
these
terms
are
very
definite,
and
I
am
so
democratic.
When
they
come
to
an
end,
I
will
step
aside
and
my
party
will
elect
my
successor.
That
is
as
clear
as
day.
“Those
who
have
other
imaginations,
it’s
a
democratic
society
for
people
to
dream,
but
facts
will
carry
the
day.”
A
breakaway
group
of
war
veterans
have
demanded
Mnangagwa’s
immediate
resignation,
and
some
of
Mnangagwa’s
loyalists
opposed
to
the
constitutional
amendment
have
warned
that
the
push
for
him
to
stay
on
now
posed
a
national
security
threat.
It
was
Mnangagwa’s
office,
not
the
ministry
of
information,
which
made
a
round
of
calls
to
editors
inviting
them
to
the
event
at
State
House.
Information
minister
Jenfan
Muswere
and
information
secretary
Ndavaningi
Mangwana,
two
of
the
biggest
agitators
for
the
constitutional
amendment,
were
noticeably
absent
from
the
briefing.
“It’s
not
imaginable
that
there
is
anybody
in
the
country
who
can
push
me
(to
seek
a
term
extension).
I
am
very
solid.
I
have
always
said
I
am
a
constitutionalist,
I
have
my
two
terms
when
they
come
to
an
end,
the
country
and
the
party
will
move
on
by
electing
my
successor,”
Mnangagwa
said.
He
will
“persuade
the
persuaders
not
to
persuade
me
so
that
I
remain
constitutional,”
he
added.
It
was
not
clear
if
Mnangagwa’s
comments,
coming
a
day
after
he
returned
from
an
African
Union
summit
in
Ethiopia,
will
mollify
his
critics
and
quieten
rising
discontent
even
within
Zanu
PF
ranks.
His
ambitious
deputy
Constantino
Chiwenga
has
shown
increasing
impatience,
and
recently
made
pointed
comments
at
corrupt
businessmen
linked
to
Mnangagwa
who
have
thrived
through
corruption.
Mnangagwa’s
supporters,
in
response,
used
an
event
at
the
National
Heroes
Acre
to
sing
songs
denouncing
the
retired
general.
Mnangagwa
was
asked
about
the
disrespect
directed
at
his
deputy.
“The
foolish
and
the
wise
both
have
their
day,”
he
replied.
“I
think
those
who
really
are
Zanu
PF
at
heart
go
by
the
rules
and
decorum
of
Zanu
PF.
We
have
other
people
who
are
in
Zanu
PF,
who
in
themselves
are
not
Zanu
PF,
but
they
dress
in
Zanu
PF
regalia,
so
you
must
always
see
when
people
talk
and
see
which
camp
they
belong
when
they
open
their
mouth.”
Former
Zanu
PF
political
commissar
Saviour
Kasukuwere,
now
a
fierce
Mnangagwa
critic
from
self
exile
in
South
Africa,
said
the
82-year-old
was
trying
to
buy
time
for
his
beleaguered
presidency.
He
compared
Mnangagwa’s
news
conference
to
his
predecessor
Robert
Mugabe’s
“Asante
Sana”
moment,
hours
before
the
military
ousted
him
in
a
coup
in
2017.
“He’s
buying
some
breathing
space.
A
revolution
is
not
staged
in
instalments.
He
knows
the
right
thing
to
do.
Step
down,”
Kasukuwere
wrote
on
X.