Zimbabwe's late-May constitutional test: Chiwenga keeps focus on rules as amendment deadline nears

With Parliament expected to vote on CAB3 before the end of May, the article frames the constitutional debate as a test of whether Zimbabwe's constitution controls power or power controls the constitution. It argues that Chiwenga has allowed the constitutional argument to take precedence over personal ambition, his restrained posture has been read by allies and observers as a defence of the rules governing transition rather than a personal campaign for the presidency. The piece outlines three possible late-May scenarios: Parliament advances the amendment; the bill is delayed for further consultation; or Mnangagwa's camp retreats from the most controversial provisions, particularly those enabling incumbent benefit. Chiwenga is presented as the disciplined constitutional counterweight to Mnangagwa's extension agenda, most favourably positioned when not framed as a claimant to power but as a senior figure focused on rules rather than personal ambition.