We the people

By Liberty Dube

It was in the early hours of March 16 2013 ,a Saturday,that my colleague, Kuda Mtisi (a dedicated cadre) and I went to the Mt Selinda Primary pre-school block to cast our vote, a YES vote on the Draft Constitution of 2013 in a National Referendum.

We were so eager to cast our vote as we understood that this decision was not the normal 5 year decision but was a lifetime commitment, a decision that will bind generations to come,
there was a lot at stake.

When we arrived at the polling station the huge number of people who were casting their votes were elders, people whom we regarded as mothers and grandmothers, fathers and grandfather’s alike. They were determined to make this historic decision for our nation.
There was consensus across the political divide for a home grown Constitution that would reflect the dreams and aspirations of we the people.

I could not help but also realise the fact that many of our age group, the younger generation had little of any interest in this process yet it was not only their future that was being decided on but the future of their children and grand children and most of them we less than 500m from the polling station.

Be that as it may, we walked out of that polling station proud,more resolute and confident of the future than ever before, we the people had made a choice, we had decided through the ballot.

Later on,the results came out and the YES vote had an overwhelming 94%. We jubilated,we marvelled. This was the dawn of a new era. We The People had made real the coming in of a new Charter.

Fast forward 4 years later ,the realignment process is yet to be complete. That is a story for another day. We woke up one day, an announcement was made,there was going to be Constitutional Amendment 1 of 2017. I enquired what was to be ammended and it was Section 180 of the Constitution which deals with the appointment of judges, the Chief Justice in particular.

What is Section 180 of the Constitution

It deals with judicial appointments. This section is one of the progressive sections of the constitution. It upholds the separation of powers doctrine, judicial independence and enhances public participation in judicial processes. Public participation is guaranteed as Section 180(2)(c) makes it an obligation to  “conduct public interviews of prospective candidates”.

Those who are now calling for the amendment are seeking to take away this progressive position. They argue that ONLY the President should be allowed to nominate candidates and appoint them at the same time. This creates a perception that insinuate that Section 180 does not give the President the opportunity to nominate yet it does, Section 180(2)(b) clearly obliges the Judicial Service Commission to, “invite the President and the public to make nominations”. Thus the President is actually given chance to participate at the nomination level.

Those FOR the amendment further argue that we can not have junior judges interviewing their seniors. I refer them to Section 180(3) which explicitly says that “if the President considers that none of the persons on the list submitted to him or her are suitable… he or she must require the Judicial Service Commission to submit a further list of three qualified persons”

Thus the argument can be adequately be dealt with in light of this constitutional provision.
At the end of the day it is the President NOT the Judicial Service Commission who appoints the Chief Justice. In light of the above I do not see any need to ammend this very progressive provision of our supreme law of the land. In my view any amendment will be retrogressive and NOT in the public interest of We The People!

The Preamble to our Constitution obligates us,the people, to commit ourselves to the values of transparency and accountability. These are the values enshrined in Section 180 and any attack on them is a wake up call to, We The People, to reaffirm our commitment to reaffirm our commitment to upholding and defending the fundamental law of our land,the Constitution.

I am cognisant of the unfortunate fact that only 20% of Zimbabweans have had access to the Constitution. The same Constitution in Section 7 says, “The state MUST promote public awareness of this Constitution” There is need for wider civic education on this supreme law.

Be that as it may,We The People are the stockholders of this Constitution, we are its guardians, it looks on Us for its protection and survival. At this critical juncture we have to stand up and defend it.

We are like people in a kombi. We do not board a kombi because we are of the same background nor of the same family, we board a kombi because we have a COMMON destination. We put our faith in the driver to take us to wherever we are going. But when the driver is going off route or is over speeding it is not the duty of one individual in the kombi to stop the driver from digressing from the route, it is the duty of everyone in the kombi to unite and stop the driver from digressing. Because at the end of the day if the kombi is involved in an accident everyone is affected, it does not discriminate.

Our constitution is just like a kombi and the executive arm of government are the ones in which ultimate trust to uphold it is given. They are the driver, we are the passengers.
As passengers we have to stand up for our future, we have to correct the driver through constitutional and legitimate means.

The Constitution is sacrosanct, it defines us as a people, it is the ultimate definer of what being a Zimbabwean means. We have to defend it at all costs. We The People Are its Protector’s in Chief.

Recently, Romania has stood as an example of the power of the people. Ordinary citizens through their resolve managed to make a government reverse a decree that would actually promote corruption. Was it easy? NO.

They had to spent nights in the streets expressing their disquiet. After the reversal of the decree, everyone with a smartphone switched on the torch as a symbol and message to the authorities that, ‘We are watching You’. Yes they were successful, So can we.

The ultimate power rests with We The People. We are the defenders of the Constitution, which we believe in. At the end of the day, the Constitution will not blame those who are tempering with it, but will blame, ‘We the People’, who failed to protect it. Who slept in the course of a great revolution. We The People should reject this amendment using democratic means necessary.

Can we do it? Barack Obama tells me, ‘YES WE CAN’

Zimbabwe hanolato!
(Long Live Zimbabwe)

Liberty writes in his capacity as a concerned citizen ready to defend the Constitution.
Can be contacted on
0771496256 for feedback.