The Constitution Amendment No 1 Bill sailed through Senate
last week after all senators from Zanu PF and the MDC-T, except Morgen Komichi
(Midlands), voted for its passage.
If enacted, the Bill will give President Emmerson Mnangagwa
unfettered power to appoint judges without exposing them to public interviews.
Zimbabwe’s Constitution is only eight years old after its
adoption in 2013. Before the amendment, it stipulated that the Chief Justice,
Deputy Chief Justice and judges should undergo public interviews before they
are appointed to the bench.
MDC Alliance insiders yesterday told NewsDay that the party
had agreed to challenge the matter in court.
“The resolution was made last week and the party leadership
is in the process of putting in motion the legal challenge. Vice-president
Tendai Biti is seized with the matter to challenge the amendment as it has been
widely condemned by the party as unconstitutional and a reverse of the gains
which were achieved by the 2013 Constitution,” said a party insider.
MDC Alliance deputy spokesperson Clifford Hlatywayo yesterday
confirmed the new development, saying Zanu PF was bent on creating a banana
republic by putting patches on the people-driven Constitution.
“What the people want is alignment of the Constitution with
the Acts of Parliament so as to put it into effect. On the reform agenda in the
Zimbabwe agenda launched by president Chamisa weeks ago, the citizens are
geared to fight in defence of the people’s Constitution and constitutionalism,
meaning that no to amendments, but yes to alignment. So as the leaders of society,
we are going to fight for this together with all progressive voices,” he said.
“How can they want to amend yet they don’t want to
implement quite a number of sections within the 2013 Constitution which have
not been implemented?”
Hlatywayo said Zanu PF was anti-people, hence it was trying
to create its own selfish empire through amending the Constitution.
“This is the reason why they illegally recalled MDC
Alliance MPs from Parliament,” he said. Different political analysts, civil
society and other opposition parties, except the MDC-T led by Douglas Mwonzora,
have condemned the recent amendment to the Constitution.
Biti said the constitutional changes were illegal.
“The starting point is that the Bill is illegal. The
sitting and reading of the Bill happened in the Robert Mugabe era. Section 147
of the Constitution is clear that any motion lapses at the dissolution of
Parliament. The Seventh Parliament was dissolved on May 28, 2018 and the motion
also lapsed,” he said.
“That’s unconstitutional and illegal, we will go to court
about that. Zanu PF can’t unilaterally amend a negotiated Constitution, which
was voted for by three million people in a referendum. The challenge should be
how to implement the Constitution.”
In July 2017 when the Constitution Amendment Bill No 1
sailed through the National Assembly, the then MDC Alliance MP for Harare West,
Jessie Majome, challenged its passage citing “gross irregularities” and that it
was passed without the two-thirds majority votes as stipulated by section
328(5) of the Constitution.
Political analyst Fidelis Duri yesterday said the court
application by the MDC Alliance would be just an academic exercise meant to
embarrass Zanu PF and score a political goal.
“It’s an academic application. Zanu PF has got the majority
in Parliament. Parliament is the law-making entity and there is nothing which
will reserve its decisions. Due process of legality has been followed. All the
legalities are in order, but yes, morally it’s out of order,” he said.
“It’s only political to try and expose the shenanigans of
the Executive. It’s only meant to embarrass Zanu PF. They will certainly lose
the case. You know to whom the Judiciary belongs, but they would have scored a
political goal against Zanu PF.” Newsday
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