Zimbabwean opposition figure and former finance minister Tendai Biti was arrested Saturday while opposing a constitutional change.
Biti, a prominent lawyer, was organising a rally in Mutare near the Mozambique border when authorities detained him with activists and journalists.
David Coltart, Bulawayo mayor and fellow lawyer, condemned the arrest, calling it an attempt to silence critics of the proposed amendment.
A student leader was also seized at Chinhoyi University for speaking against the reform, the Zimbabwe National Students Union said on Saturday.
The constitutional change aims to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term from 2028 to 2030 and shift election powers to parliament.
Mnangagwa, nicknamed the “Crocodile,” assumed power in 2017 after a military intervention ousted Robert Mugabe, ending his 30-year rule.
Critics accuse the 83-year-old president of tolerating corruption and suppressing human rights, with inflation hovering near triple digits from 2019 to 2024.
Supporters in parliament are expected to approve the amendment with a two-thirds majority, though opponents insist it requires a national referendum.
Opposition activists have reported beatings and intimidation while campaigning against the constitutional reform, highlighting growing tensions ahead of parliamentary approval.
The arrests underscore Zimbabwe’s deepening political divisions and the government’s firm stance against dissent, raising fears of broader civil unrest.