D. Tinashé Hofisi
@DavidHofisi
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Charlottesville, VA
Joined June 2011
Immensely proud of this record; great work with Mukoma @MONOMUKUNDU over a four year period and now available for pre-order on iTunes and Apple Music! https://t.co/N64j7Hxi8n
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To evade the referendum trigger, the Minister of Justice argues that the bill only adjusts “election cycles.” This contradicts the plain text of the bill, which explicitly cites & overrides the prohibition against term-limit amendments which lengthen tenure.
🇿🇼 New piece! Zimbabwe gazetted amendments to extend presidential and parliamentary terms, replace direct presidential elections with parliamentary selection, and consolidate executive control over key state institutions. @DavidHofisi examines how the bill fundamentally
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Impeachment is a difficult process for removing a DIRECTLY ELECTED President Indirectly elected presidents are removed easily by the legislature through a vote of no confidence The bill switches from direct elections without empowering parliament with vote to remove president
@DavidHofisi With due respect our constitution hasn't removed the safeguards around impeachment. A president can still be removed from office. Ppl will still have the leader they want through parliamentary representation. In 1980 we didn't vote for prime minister RGM directly but through ZANU
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Read my piece. When you get to the allegation you are now making about the U.S.? Click the link on faithless elector laws - it will address the mistaken notion you have about the relationships between voting & outcomes in the U.S.
@DavidHofisi Noone agreed to the 6yr presidential term from 5yrs. Removal of direct presidential voting doesn't disenfranchise anyone. Voting for your party MPs ensures that you have the president of your choice. There is no difference really. In US popular vote does not produce a president
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Yes they did. If people disapprove of fundamental changes they punish politicians at the NEXT SCHEDULED ELECTION. That's democracy. When you make the change, BUT remove direct presidential voting AND postpone elections WHILE avoiding a referendum? That is illiberalism on steroids
@DavidHofisi It's not about the incumbent Did the ppl agree to such a fundamental change? Who agreed to the executive presidency & the removal of the ceremonial president?
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Do not preemptively surrender your sense of agency It is *exactly* how they want you to feel
@DavidHofisi and sadly there is nothing we are going to do about it
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Neither the 1987 switch to executive presidency nor the 2007 change of the presidential term delayed popular expression at the ballot box: they were subject to the people. There was NO period of incumbency disconnected from popular expression, rendering a referendum superfluous
@DavidHofisi Mugabe changed from prime minister to executive president without referendum. Changed the 6yr presidential election cycle to 5 Yr harmonised to Parliamentary elections without a referendum
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By ending the tribal politics that led to Gukurahundi. Presidential elections produce accountability to the whole country, not just a party or ethnic group. Remove that, and power shifts from the people to elites, to shadowy 5th Brigades, & zvigananda
@DavidHofisi How did Zimbabweans benefit from elections since 1987
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For all his faults, Mugabe prided himself on the ritual of regular elections & put a draft constitution to a referendum he wasnt legally required to hold. Yet Pres Mnangagwa seeks to postpone elections, evade a referendum & scrap direct presidential voting
constitutionnet.org
In February 2026, Zimbabwe gazetted Constitution Amendment Bill No. 3, a far-reaching proposal framed as a technical reform of electoral cycles and governance structures. The bill cumulative effect...
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The assault of @ProfMadhuku isn't just linked to, but is co-constitutive of, the attack on the pple's constitution. Outrage regarding the former rings hollow from those seeking & actively fomenting the latter. Their feigned civility masks complicity in erosion of the rule of law.
This is @ProfMadhuku a full professor since 2011. He leads the National Constitutional Assembly. The Zimbabwe Gvt is amending the constitution to remove direct elections for president & extend his term & that of parliament. He opposes the changes & was attacked this morning
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The Madhuku strategy is leading demonstrations from the front even if banned; declaring POSA will not be complied with & putting your body on the line in spite of repeated beatings & arrests to such irritation that Mugabe knows you by name, caves and delivers the new constitution
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This is @ProfMadhuku a full professor since 2011. He leads the National Constitutional Assembly. The Zimbabwe Gvt is amending the constitution to remove direct elections for president & extend his term & that of parliament. He opposes the changes & was attacked this morning
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By the same token, the Bill is clear testimony to the party’s irrevocable belief in people’s power.” Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No.7 Bill Third Reading Friday, 30 October 1987 House of Assembly Parliamentary Debates, Vol.14, No. 34 page 1697
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...the paramount and overriding principle is democratic participation of the people in choosing who leads them. Undoubtedly, this is a clear and ample demonstration of this Government and party’s adherence to the noble principle of people being the custodians of popular will.
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Minister State Security in the Prime Minister's Office. 30 October 1987 “Mr Speaker, the Bill also expresses the democratic aspirations of the Zimbabwean people in one fundamental respect: their right to choose and elect a President of their own choice through the popular vote…
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Thank you so much to the @ANCL_RADC for publishing a blog on my thesis!
[New Blog] In this blog entry, Dr Tinashé Hofisi explores, "How can African states ensure that constitutional enforcement is a genuine check on the powers of elected branches?" Read more: https://t.co/zmdnUZueus
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Entirely tragic that episodic demolition of houses continues in Zimbabwe. My forthcoming chapter in the Oxford Handbook on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights draws lessons from Zimbabwe's freedom from arbitrary eviction and property destruction.
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In this week's post, I frame the latest wave of arrests in Zimbabwe as authoritarian legalism, explaining why the state is resorting to excessive policing that nominally complies w court jmts, but substantively undermines the rationale for those rulings. https://t.co/SACdTq49Uo
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Motivation is the bridge between feeling a need to write, & actually wanting to do so. It is necessary to streamline your project & acquire the subject matter discipline to avoid going down rabbit holes for newer ideas & perspectives. I explain further at
Hello! I have a new post in which I use the experience of completing a thesis to identify the conditions for optimal writing output in high pressure situations. Spoiler: it is a combination of sufficient motivation, a positive mood and sustained momentum. https://t.co/CmWL2Cg0LE
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Hello! I have a new post in which I use the experience of completing a thesis to identify the conditions for optimal writing output in high pressure situations. Spoiler: it is a combination of sufficient motivation, a positive mood and sustained momentum. https://t.co/CmWL2Cg0LE
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"It always seems impossible, until it's done." Nelson Mandela
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