Colonel Miniyothabo Baloyi probably thought she was simply explaining military tradition when she told Zimbabweans that military rank is not \u201csexually transmitted.\u201d But without intending to, the wife of Vice President Constantino Chiwenga delivered a lesson about power that ZANU PF desperately needs to hear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baloyi explained that despite being married to Chiwenga, a former Zimbabwe Defence Forces commander and now Vice President, she remains a Colonel in the Zimbabwe National Army. She still salutes officers who outrank her because marrying a powerful man does not suddenly turn her into a General.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simple. Rank belongs to the individual who earned it. Institutions have rules. Relationships do not automatically change those rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now imagine if ZANU PF respected political institutions with the same discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zimbabwe’s problem is that after more than four decades in government, ZANU PF increasingly behaves as though political power belongs to the party rather than being temporarily entrusted to it by citizens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That mentality is at the centre of the CAB3 controversy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Constitutional Amendment No. 3 is dangerous not merely because of what it changes today, but because of the political philosophy behind it. When constitutional arrangements become inconvenient to those occupying power, the answer should never be to move the constitutional goalposts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Constitution is supposed to restrain politicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Politicians are not supposed to redesign it to accommodate themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baloyi’s military example makes the contradiction impossible to ignore. Imagine a Colonel announcing that thirty years of service entitles her to remain indefinitely, choose her own promotion date and alter military regulations because unfinished assignments require continuity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The army would call that indiscipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet when politicians use remarkably similar reasoning, Zimbabweans are told it is necessary for \u201cstability\u201d and \u201cdevelopment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What stability?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ZANU PF has governed Zimbabwe since 1980. It has enjoyed more political continuity than most governments anywhere in Africa. If remaining in power longer were the magic formula for prosperity, Zimbabwe should have some of the best hospitals, roads, public services and employment opportunities on the continent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, generations of Zimbabweans have watched their parents struggle, then grown up to face the same economic uncertainty themselves. Millions have built lives outside the country. Skilled nurses, teachers and professionals have left. Ordinary families have carried the burden of failing services while political elites repeatedly promise that prosperity is just around the corner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After 46 years of ZANU PF rule, blaming elections for interrupted development is becoming an insult to the intelligence of Zimbabweans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How many more years does one political party require?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hospitals do not lack medicines because Zimbabwe holds elections every five years. Young graduates are not unemployed because presidential terms are too short. Corruption does not exist because politicians face voters too frequently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These problems are consequences of governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And accountability is part of the solution, not the enemy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is why CAB3 should worry Zimbabweans beyond ordinary party politics. Today constitutional changes may favour ZANU PF. Tomorrow another government could inherit the same precedent and push it even further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once politicians discover that constitutional boundaries can move whenever parliamentary numbers allow it, the Constitution slowly stops protecting citizens and starts protecting power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baloyi’s comments offer an unexpectedly useful contrast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the funeral of Brigadier General Chaminuka, she says she stood among fellow officers as Colonel Baloyi, not as \u201cthe Vice President’s wife.\u201d There was no special rank created for her because of proximity to power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is institutional discipline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zimbabwe needs political discipline too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emmerson Mnangagwa is not Zimbabwe. Constantino Chiwenga is not Zimbabwe. ZANU PF is certainly not Zimbabwe. They are political actors occupying positions that existed before them and should exist long after them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The liberation struggle cannot become an eternal ownership certificate over the country either. The sacrifice of liberation fighters deserves recognition, but independence was supposed to transfer sovereignty to the people, not permanently transfer the country to one political organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One person, one vote was not fought for so that future generations could eventually be told that voting too often disrupts development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps ZANU PF should borrow something from military culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Know your rank. Respect the institution. Understand the limits of your authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And when the rules say your time is finished, salute the institution and step aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Colonel Baloyi understands that marrying a General does not make her one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zimbabwe’s ruling elite must understand an equally simple principle: governing the country for decades does not make Zimbabwe your property.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Power is not sexually transmitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is not historically inherited either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a democracy, it belongs to the people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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