{"id":1839443,"date":"2026-03-21T19:03:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:03:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1839443"},"modified":"2026-03-21T19:03:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:03:27","slug":"is-zimbabwe-under-political-siege","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1839443","title":{"rendered":"Is Zimbabwe under political siege?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76469961_6.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/5ArLf<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
Biti is a major Zimbabwean opposition figure [FILE: February 18, 2019]Image: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi\/AP Photo\/picture alliance<\/small><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Zimbabwe’s<\/a> former Finance Minister and prominent lawyer Tendai Biti has been detained by police, along with several fellow activists, amid mounting tensions over President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s bid to extend his stay in power.<\/p>\n

Biti’s civic\u2011rights group, the Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF), said he had been organising a rally in Mutare at the time of his arrest.<\/p>\n

Police have not commented on Biti’s detention, and his whereabouts were not immediately clear.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe’s cabinet last month backed draft legislation that would amend the constitution to extend presidential terms from five to seven years and allow lawmakers,\u00a0rather than voters,\u00a0to choose the president.<\/p>\n

The changes would enable Mnangagwa to remain in office until 2030, a move Biti, his organization and opposition\u00a0parties strongly oppose.<\/p>\n

Opponents campaigning against the constitutional changes\u00a0said\u00a0they had been subjected to beatings or intimidation.<\/p>\n

Critics say\u00a0amendments are unconstitutional<\/h2>\n

David Coltart, the mayor of Bulawayo, the country’s second\u2011largest city, condemned the arrest, saying it appears Biti’s outspoken criticism of the proposed constitutional changes is what landed him in trouble.<\/p>\n

“Why is [Mnangagwa’s] Zanu PF so paranoid about pushing these amendments through using such illegal, authoritarian and unconstitutional means? It clearly knows that it does not enjoy the support of the overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans,\u201d he wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Mnangagwa, who is 83, was due to step down in 2028 after completing two five\u2011year terms. ZANU\u2011PF has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.<\/p>\n

Legal challenges to the proposal are expected, with constitutional experts arguing that any change to presidential term limits would require a referendum \u2014 and noting that such amendments cannot benefit a sitting president.<\/p>\n

“Zimbabweans have got the right to approach the courts of law,\u201d Biti said late last year.<\/p>\n

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Is Zimbabwe under political siege?<\/h2>\n

Edited by:\u00a0Saim Du\u0161an Inayatullah<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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Zimbabwe’s<\/a> former Finance Minister and prominent lawyer Tendai Biti has been detained by police, along with several fellow activists, amid mounting tensions over President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s bid to extend his stay in power.<\/p>\n

Biti’s civic\u2011rights group, the Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF), said he had been organising a rally in Mutare at the time of his arrest.<\/p>\n

Police have not commented on Biti’s detention, and his whereabouts were not immediately clear.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe’s cabinet last month backed draft legislation that would amend the constitution to extend presidential terms from five to seven years and allow lawmakers,\u00a0rather than voters,\u00a0to choose the president.<\/p>\n

The changes would enable Mnangagwa to remain in office until 2030, a move Biti, his organization and opposition\u00a0parties strongly oppose.<\/p>\n

Opponents campaigning against the constitutional changes\u00a0said\u00a0they had been subjected to beatings or intimidation.<\/p>\n

Critics say\u00a0amendments are unconstitutional<\/h2>\n

David Coltart, the mayor of Bulawayo, the country’s second\u2011largest city, condemned the arrest, saying it appears Biti’s outspoken criticism of the proposed constitutional changes is what landed him in trouble.<\/p>\n

“Why is [Mnangagwa’s] Zanu PF so paranoid about pushing these amendments through using such illegal, authoritarian and unconstitutional means? It clearly knows that it does not enjoy the support of the overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans,\u201d he wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Mnangagwa, who is 83, was due to step down in 2028 after completing two five\u2011year terms. ZANU\u2011PF has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.<\/p>\n

Legal challenges to the proposal are expected, with constitutional experts arguing that any change to presidential term limits would require a referendum \u2014 and noting that such amendments cannot benefit a sitting president.<\/p>\n

“Zimbabweans have got the right to approach the courts of law,\u201d Biti said late last year.<\/p>\n

\n

Is Zimbabwe under political siege?<\/h2>\n

Edited by:\u00a0Saim Du\u0161an Inayatullah<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Zimbabwe’s<\/a> former Finance Minister and prominent lawyer Tendai Biti has been detained by police, along with several fellow activists, amid mounting tensions over President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s bid to extend his stay in power.<\/p>\n

Biti’s civic\u2011rights group, the Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF), said he had been organising a rally in Mutare at the time of his arrest.<\/p>\n

Police have not commented on Biti’s detention, and his whereabouts were not immediately clear.<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe’s cabinet last month backed draft legislation that would amend the constitution to extend presidential terms from five to seven years and allow lawmakers,\u00a0rather than voters,\u00a0to choose the president.<\/p>\n

The changes would enable Mnangagwa to remain in office until 2030, a move Biti, his organization and opposition\u00a0parties strongly oppose.<\/p>\n

Opponents campaigning against the constitutional changes\u00a0said\u00a0they had been subjected to beatings or intimidation.<\/p>\n

David Coltart, the mayor of Bulawayo, the country’s second\u2011largest city, condemned the arrest, saying it appears Biti’s outspoken criticism of the proposed constitutional changes is what landed him in trouble.<\/p>\n

“Why is [Mnangagwa’s] Zanu PF so paranoid about pushing these amendments through using such illegal, authoritarian and unconstitutional means? It clearly knows that it does not enjoy the support of the overwhelming majority of Zimbabweans,\u201d he wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Mnangagwa, who is 83, was due to step down in 2028 after completing two five\u2011year terms. ZANU\u2011PF has ruled Zimbabwe since independence from Britain in 1980.<\/p>\n

Legal challenges to the proposal are expected, with constitutional experts arguing that any change to presidential term limits would require a referendum \u2014 and noting that such amendments cannot benefit a sitting president.<\/p>\n

“Zimbabweans have got the right to approach the courts of law,\u201d Biti said late last year.<\/p>\n

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video<\/a><\/p>\n

Edited by:\u00a0Saim Du\u0161an Inayatullah<\/em><\/p>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/zimbabwes-biti-reportedly-detained-amid-termlimit-row\/a-76470035″]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/static.dw.com\/image\/76469961_6.jpg”] https:\/\/p.dw.com\/p\/5ArLf Biti is a major Zimbabwean opposition figure [FILE: February 18, 2019]Image: Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi\/AP Photo\/picture alliance Zimbabwe’s former Finance Minister and prominent lawyer Tendai Biti has been detained by police, along with several fellow activists, amid mounting tensions over President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s bid to extend his stay in power. Biti’s civic\u2011rights group, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,74],"class_list":["post-1839443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-dw-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1839443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1839443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1839443\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1839443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1839443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1839443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}