The Judges to be sworn in were interviewed in 2020 following the Judicial Service Commission’s (JSC) public notice on these interviews. However, there was no further development of the issue since then. It would seem that the President waited until the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill (no 2) had sailed through.

Amendment Bill (no 2) allows the President to elect Judges without them going through any voting process. View the rest of the terms of the bill in this article. Critics have stated that the bill gives the President more power than a President in a so called Democratic nation should have.

This amendment bill is the same one that led to the recent back and forth in the Chief Justice Malaba Saga. You can read about it here.

The 5 Judges that will be sworn in today at 10 am by the Acting Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza at the Constitutional Court are:

1. Justice Rita Makarau
2. Justice Paddington Garwe
3.  Justice Bharat Patel
4. Justice Ben Hlatshwayo
5.  Justice Anne-Marie Gorowa

What are your thoughts?

Let us know in the comment section below.

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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.

What are your thoughts?

Let us know in the comment section.

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After a series of medical tests that showed that the Judge is still fit to carry out his responsibilities, President Mnangagwa personally extended his term to five more years.

How did this come to be?

In a previous article we discussed the role of the Zimbabwe Constitution Amendment Bill no 2 in making this possible. You can read the article here.

Chief Justice Malaba is reportedly ready to fight the urgent chamber application by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum Executive Director, Dr Musa Kika. The chamber application aims at opposing the extension of the Judge’s term past his age of retirement. We covered that matter in an article you can find here.

What are your thoughts?

Let us know in the comments section below.

The post It has come to pass! Chief Justice Malaba’s term extended appeared first on Provoker Magazine.

How did we get here? For starters, it has been expressed that Chief Justice Malaba tenure is to be extended beyond the retirement age. The Judge will be reaching the retirement age of 70 on the 15th of May. However, the recently passed amendment bill no 2 has granted the country’s President the power to extend the Judge’s tenure. Why is that an issue?

Many critics fear the role Chief Justice Malaba is likely to play in the upcoming 2023 elections. This fear emanates from his tremendous role in legitimising Mnangagwa’s rule after the coup. You can read about that in detail here.

View the Human rights forum urgent chamber appeal below:

What are your thoughts on this matter?

Let us know in the comment section.

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It is reported that this Judge was key in helping the Mnangagwa regime establish its rule following the coup that stripped former President Mugabe of his power. He is said to have continued to help President Mnangagwa legitimize and consolidate his rule even after the coup episode was over.

With the 2023 elections in the horizon some have pointed to the vital role that the Judge might be able to play for Mnangagwa. However, with his age quickly catching up to him, Judge Malaba was set for retirement by the 15th of May 2021. So how is it then that he is still in the picture?

We’ll rightly give all credits to the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment 2. The bill, which some critics have described as giving the President more powers, allows for Judges to go beyond the 70 year mark. In addition to this, the President now has the authority to handpick the Judges without them having to undergo the usual voting system. More on this amendment can be found here.

What are your thoughts?

Let us know in the comment section below.

The post Chief Justice Malaba to cheat retirement all thanks to the constitution amendment bill no2 appeared first on Provoker Magazine.

You would think that Constitution makers have a firm understanding and grasp of the English language. Particularly when that language is the one being used to write the Constitution. How else will they be able to interpret the constitution for the general public if they don’t quite get it themselves?

You’re probably wondering what this lack of understanding we’re talking about is and how it applies to the Zimbabwean Constitution. Well, a political activist took to twitter to point out an error in the Shona translation of the constitution which could be said to indicate a lack of understanding. Where the English version of the Zimbabwean Constitution refers to “potable water” the Shona one translates it to “mvura inotakurika.”

The English Dictionary defines “potable water” as follows:

Drinking water, also known as potable water, is water that is safe to drink or use for food preparation.

View the tweet below:

A recent critic of the Constitution’s Amendment Bill no2 is discussed in one of our previous articles here. The bill came into question as it was said to give President Mnangagwa more powers.

What are your thoughts? Is this just a basic mistake or should more care be taken in the making and translating of such important documents?

Let us know in the comment section below.

The post Humiliating blunder spotted in the Zimbabwean Constitution. English never loved us. appeared first on Provoker Magazine.

The president will be able to do the following as a result of the passing of  this bill:

1. Personally appoint judges thereby overriding the public voting system that lead to the appointment of judges.
2. Extend the terms of judges even if they’ve reached retirement age
3. Appoint his own deputies instead of utilising elected vice presidents
4. Elevate sitting judges to higher courts without passing them through public interviews

MDC conglomerates including Thokozani Khupe, Nomvula Mguni, Phelela Masuku, Livingstone Chimina, Patrick Dube, Joel Gabuza, Innocent Gonese, Shapespear Hamauswa, Norman Allan Markham, Phelela Masuku, Daniel Molokela, Edwin Mushoriwa, Stella Ndlovu, Jacob Nyokanhete, Tose Wesley Sansole, Trevor Saruwaka, Job Sikhala, Godfrey Sithole, Jane Nicola Watson, Jasmine Toffa, Illos Nyoni, and David Tekeshe have rejected this amendment. The general sentiment is that these changes are all centered around consolidating President Mnangagwa’s powers.

An appalled Tendai Biti shared the following sentiments with regards to this bill:

“We will fight this abomination. Emmerson’s disrespect of the constitution and total violation of decency and the rule of law sets him apart as the greatest existential threat to the Zimbabwe State. In three years, Zimbabwe has descended into a little outpost of fascism and state failure, thanks to politics of greed, violence, and idiocy.”

MDC-T Senator and Thokozani Khupe ally, Khaliphani Phugeni, posed a question with regards to the appointment of judges:

“What’s wrong about a judge who is going to preside over our matters to be publicly interviewed for all to be convinced that indeed this person is fit to hold the position that they seek?

What are your thoughts?

Let us know what you think in the comment section below.

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