Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Major General (Rtd) Gibson Mashingaidze has criticised Air Vice Marshal (Rtd) Henry Muchena over his opposition to Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 of 2026.
Muchena, who claimed to be representing unnamed retired generals, ex-combatants, and former civil servants, wrote to Parliament on 12 March 2026 opposing the proposed amendments.
In his letter, he called for a national referendum, arguing that “power belongs to the people,” not lawmakers, and cited the ideals of the liberation struggle, particularly universal suffrage.
He also warned that the proposed changes could amount to a “constitutional coup” if passed without a public vote.
In response, Mashingaidze wrote to the Clerk of Parliament on 19 March, saying Muchena was speaking in his personal capacity and did not represent retired generals or former senior civil servants.
Mashingaidze added that, in his view, retired army generals and senior civil servants support the Constitutional Amendment Bill No. 3 of 2026. The letter reads:
RE: RETIRED GENERALS, SENIOR CIVIL SERVANTS, FORMER LIBERATION WAR HEROES, SUPPORTIVE OF AMENDMENT BILL NUMBER 3
Esteemed Clerk of Parliament, on behalf of myself and the broader retired Army Generals and senior civil servants, who gallantly served in our protracted liberation struggle, take great exception to claims by a lone retired fellow Cde, Air Vice Marshal Henry Muchena, that we are collectively against Constitutional Amendment Number 3. For him to purport to be speaking on behalf of all of us is not only unfortunate but regrettable.
The generality of retired military Generals and senior civil servants, who are members of ZANU PF, hereby unequivocally distance ourselves from the sentiments by Muchena, and categorically state that we participated in both ZANU PF Conferences in 2024 and 2025, which came up with and subsequently reaffirmed Resolution Number 1. This resolution was a collective ZANU PF position, which we unapologetically participated in and confirmed, as a precursor to Constitutional Amendment Number 3. We unreservedly and unapologetically reaffirm this longstanding commitment to the realisation of this unshakeable Resolution Number 1.
As the National Chair of the Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Board and Chair of the War Veterans League Masvingo Province, I was party to the process of crafting Resolution Number 1 and was involved in consultations on the issue since 2024. I am also in touch with several retired military Generals and senior civil servants who have since expressed shock at Muchena’s utterances purporting to represent them. Muchena did not consult either us or anyone on the matter, and, therefore, I humbly submit that his views are personal and do not represent those of retired Army Generals or senior civil servants.
Esteemed Clerk of Parliament, we are also in support of ALL the other proposed amendments, which seek to correct the unpalatable negotiated clauses in the Constitution during the Government of National Unity (GNU). ZANU PF, as the governing Party of the day, has an obligation to serve the wishes of the majority of our people, represented by the membership of the ZANU PF governing mass Party.
His Excellency, President Dr Emmerson Dambudzo MNANGAGWA, is a constitutionalist par excellence, and a deployee of the Party. To that end, the proposed Constitutional Amendments are being constitutionally and legally conducted through a Parliamentary process, where the people are ably represented by parliamentarians from across the political divide, notwithstanding the fact that people will also participate during the Parliamentary Outreach Programme.
It is in this spirit that Cde Muchena, who appears to be the leader and membership of a non-existent group of retired Generals and senior civil servants, should disabuse himself of the notion that he can gratuitously speak on behalf of others. He is free to have his opinion, but must not subcontract and impose his misplaced personal views as those of the collective. Cde Muchena, like every Zimbabwean, is free to participate during the Parliamentary Outreach Programme and air his views, the same way other liberation war comrades will have an equal opportunity.
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