Exclusive: Jessie Majome on ‘The Big Interview’

Journalist Lance Guma speaks to Jessie Majome the Deputy Minister for Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development. Majome is the MP for Harare West constituency and spokesperson for the Constitutional Parliamentary Select Committee (Copac).

In this 50 minute interview Majome tackles questions to do with the reported deadlock over the adoption of the Copac draft, whether the Principals have a final say, criticism of the draft as being racist towards white farmers, ambiguity on the issue of dual citizenship and silence on the diaspora vote amongst others.

Majome speaks about her relationship with her boss, the Minister of Women’s Affairs, Gender and Community Development Olivia Muchena from Zanu PF. Although undermined as Deputy Minister to Patrick Chinamasa in the Justice Ministry, she says the situation is even worse in her current Ministry.

As a young lawyer Majome was part of the Chidyausiku Constitutional Commission that produced a draft that was rejected in 2000. She later joined the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) who had successfully campaigned for the rejection of that draft. She is now spokesperson for Copac.

Was it a mistake to reject the Chidyausiku draft in 2000 given it had imposed a two term presidential term limit? What is Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s position on the issue of referring the Copac draft to Principals? Is Arthur Mutambara a Trojan horse waiting to be used by Mugabe on the constitution?