The 70 year old Chief Justice Malaba and President Mnangagwa almost got away with extending the Judges term. Zimbabwe’s law shows that a Judge is expected to retire by the age of 70. However, there was a clash between this law and the terms of the Constitution Amendment Bill no 2.
The amendment bill, which we covered in detail here, allowed the President to personally handpick judges and extend their tenure as he pleases. So, just 5 hours before Justice Malaba was due to retire, the President extended his tenure. Critics have suggested that Malaba has played and will continue to play a vital role in the consolidation of Mnangagwa’s power. This is said to make him a necessary pawn in the upcoming 2023 elections.
However, an urgent chamber application against this move was filed by the Zimbabwe Human Rights Lawyers NGO Forum. The results proved to be favourable. The issue bears much gravity such that some international news outlets have reported on the matter. One such media platform is Kuwait Times. View it below:
Three Judges sat down on Friday to debate the issue of the legality of the tenure extension. Section 14 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (no 2) Act was the one that had allowed the President to extend the Judges tenure. However, the Act was deemed invalid for its violation of section 56 (3) of the Constitution.
Although the ruling turned out favourably, there were some hurdles along the way. Zimbabwe’s Minister of Justice, Ziyambi Ziyambi is said to have tried to stop this court proceeding. The Justice Minister has since been reported for contempt of court.
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