They are officially moving the goalposts in Zimbabwe, and the government didn't even try to play it low-key. On Wednesday, the Senate voted 75-4 to pass some shady constitutional amendments that basically guarantee 83-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa—aka "The Crocodile"—keeps the top spot locked down until 2030.

This isn't just a small tweak to the rules; they completely flipped the script. The new bill, which already cleared the lower house and is set to be signed by the president next month, stretches presidential terms from five years to seven. On top of that, they’re getting rid of direct presidential elections altogether. Regular people don't get to vote for the president anymore; instead, parliament will just appoint whoever they want.

Opposition groups are calling it exactly what it looks like: a "calculated constitutional coup." Makomborero Haruzivishe from the Constitutional Defenders Forum (CDF) kept it 100, saying this move "strips citizens of the fundamental right to directly elect their president" and hands all the power to a "captured legislature" that’s already in the ruling party’s pocket.

But the government’s hype man, Information Ministry Permanent Secretary Nick Mangwana, claims everyone is just overreacting. He said calling it a coup is "deeply disrespectful" and that they’re just trying to bring "stability" and "continuity." According to him, they aren't deleting term limits; they’re just changing up the cycle so they don't have to deal with "highly contested, polarising elections." Translation: they’re tired of the people pushing back. And if you’re waiting on a referendum so the people can actually voice their opinion, forget about it. Mangwana said the attorney general found "no legal basis" to let the public vote on these changes.

This is nothing new for the Zanu-PF party, which has been running things since Zimbabwe got independence back in 1980. Mnangagwa took the wheel in 2017 after leading a coup against Robert Mugabe, who held onto power for 37 years. Mnangagwa won a second term in 2023 with 52.6% of the vote, but international observers and critics called foul on the whole process. Now, they’re making sure they don’t even have to worry about a public vote next time around.

And if you try to speak up or campaign against these changes, the streets get real dangerous, real fast. Activists and lawyers are getting targeted left and right by the state's muscle.

Tendai Biti, a lawyer and CDF organizer, said security forces have run up on his office six different times since October 2025. Back in March, Biti's driver got assaulted during one of those raids, and the police basically shrugged it off, saying they were only there to "maintain law and order."