Zimbabwe’s disregard to the rule of law is perpetuating. The situation is degenerating to unimagined crisis levels. If events currently panning out on the political scene are left to go unchecked, it is difficult to imagine how life will be like in the country for the next five years.
Periods like the Gukurahundi, Jambanja hondo yeminda and the 2008 Presidential election rerun, are top ranking in terms of lawlessness in the country. However, the current situation differs with all the above eras simply because during those times the courts and most of the state institutions appeared to have been operating independently.
There were no overt signs of judicial partiality or capture by the ruling party and the state. The current situation is unique and never been witnessed even in Rhodesia. The courts were always there for justice and for upholding of the constitution of the country.
The hondo yeminda period was the onset of judicial purging through persecution of Judges who did not tore the line, did not succumb to the process of corrupting the courts and wanted to maintain professionalism with the judicial system.
The recent abductions come immediately after the harmonised elections that were littered with physical violence and abductions of political opposition members. During the 2023 Harmonised elections physical violence was perpetrated by Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ) members against the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activists.
The incidents of violence were reported to the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) but nothing was done to arrest the perpetrators. In some instances the victims were arrested.
Those crimes committed by FAZ activists during August 2023 elections have just died down with the narrative that the election period is over, lets concentrate on developing the country. This is despite the fact that criminal crimes were committed with no arrests of the known perpetrators.
Abductions and disappearances are not a new phenomenon to Zimbabwe. Abductions and disappearances of citizens have been an ongoing event since the 1990s to the present day.
The disappearances of Rashiwe Guzha, Tonderai Ndira, Itai Dzamara, the abductions of the MDC trio, Hon James Chidhakwa, Takudzwa Ngadziore (MP), Bishop Tapfuma Masiya, and the abductions and torture of Dr Magombeyi and Gonyeti a social media comedian, just to mention few well-known cases.
Not even a single arrest has been made so far or even an update from the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) regarding these abductions, torture and disappearances.
The most shocking abduction was that of Hon Takudzwa Ngadziore. Hon Ngadziore managed to film his abductors live on Facebook for the whole world to see two gun trotting men chasing him.
The two men were quickly identified by the public but the police only communicated via Twitter that investigations were under way, no arrest and no update until today.
Any Republican Police force cannot struggle to identify suspects who have been publicly displayed, let alone named and even their place of work and residence identified.
This kind of attitude leaves our police in a compromised position, more so, in an accomplice position and confirmation that the crimes are committed by their colleagues whom they cannot apprehend without the permission of their bosses. A sad situation for the nation. Cry our beloved Zimbabwe.
The Tshabangu fiasco is another event that highlights the epitome of lawlessness in the nation. Without wasting time on his eligibility to individually and successfully recall elected Members of Parliament belonging to a political party where he holds no executive position, is shocking and completely unbelievable.
The ZRP’s reluctance to nab him on the reported cases of fraud by CCC, has all the hallmarks of lawlessness through state capture. In the same category of actions is the disregard by state institutions and officers to disregard courts procedures.
Once a court outcome is appealed, it has the effect of suspending all other procedures and events that were meant to take place as a result of that judgement. The effect of the appeal is that everything reverts back to the original position as if no court judgment is in place.
In the case of the recalled CCC MPs who appealed their case to the Supreme court, the legal position is that they are still members of Parliament until their case has been pronounced by the Supreme Court.
They are still eligible to attend Parliament the same way as prior to their recalls. Their positions cannot be advertised as vacant because they are still MPs until they lose their case in the Supreme Court.
If the Supreme Court upholds their appeal, they continue to exercise their duties as elected members of their constituencies.
If they lose their appeal, it means that they are no longer able to represent their constituencies in Parliament and for that reason by-elections will be held in their respective constituencies to replace them.
All the campaigning that is taking place at the moment is illegal and a clear sign that Zimbabwe is fast degenerating into a Banana Republic.
After the announcements of the recalls by the Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda and the President of the Senate Edna Madzongwe, the President Emmerson Mnangagwa hastily proclaimed the by-elections date and the court nomination.
Zanu PF Parliamentary candidates who had lost these elections and the CCC recalled MPs all registered successfully with the Zimbabwe Elections Commission (ZEC).
They immediately started the campaigns without regard to the court procedures that were initiated. The appeal process was supposed to have put everything on hold.
There is a serious challenge regarding the rule of law in the country. Whilst the rule of law is a broader topic to talk about, simply, it is the existence and respect of (good) laws by all the citizens of the country including those in positions of leadership.
According to the famous English Judge Lord Bingham, the fundamental compact that underpins the rule of law is between the individual and the state, the governor and the governed whereby both parties sacrifice a measure of the freedom and power which they would otherwise enjoy for the benefit of all.
Lord Bingham referred to a situation whereby the governors have the power and resources to suppress the governed but they can only be restrained from such behaviour by the observance of the rule of law.
The current situation in Zimbabwe is that we no longer have governors who are able to restraint themselves from suppressing the powerless for the sake of promoting the rule of law.
The state institutions, the ruling elite and their colleagues are disregarding the law with impunity at the disadvantage of those who oppose them. They take pride in the show of force and their ability to act with impunity. They are above the law.
Disregard of the rule of law has been more prevalent prior, during and post the 2023 harmonised elections.
It is unheard of, that an individual can with no regard to the law, recall MPs elected by the masses to represent them in Parliament and stop them from executing their mandate of representing the people in Parliament.
The Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference (ZCBC) have labelled this action as the physical violence perpetrated on the electorate by a single person. The shocking part of it all is that the person acting illegally is being aided by the state institutions to carry out this unlawful act.
Parliament has the duty to exercise due diligence when dealing with such issues. Abettors argue that it is not the duty of Parliament officers to control activities that take place in political party in-house, but it is Parliament officers’ duty to act in a manner that does not drag the name of the institution into disrepute.
Zimbabweans further witnessed the disregard of the rule of law shifting from Parliament to the Judiciary; the recalled MPs took their case to the courts and by now it is public knowledge that the High Court judged that they have no locus standi.
The judgment was however, appealed and the appeal judgment reserved. My opinion on the High Court judgment are contained in my previous article https://nehandaradio.com/2023/11/15/mutevedzi-judgment-on-ccc-mps-vs-sengezo-tshabangu-a-scandal/.
I cannot dwell much on the supreme Court appeal because the judgment is reserved and expected soon. However, there is the aspect of the law that is being ignored by the state and state institutions.
When a case goes before the courts, judgment is given, appealed is made, the appeal has a legal effect on all the activities that follows as highlighted above.
There are common legal principles like an individual is innocent until proven guilty (even though it is known in the village that he committed the crime) but he remains a suspect until the court finds him guilt.
It is the same when a judgment is appealed, it suspends the effect of that particular judgement until the appeal is heard and decision pronounced.
This simple legal principle could have stopped all the hullabaloo about the by-elections and Mayoral elections that is gripping the nation. Why is it that the nation cannot wait for the courts to complete their process without acting in contempt?
Zimbabwe Election Commission (ZEC) is an independent Chapter 12 institution birthed in terms of section 238 of The Zimbabwean Constitution. It is headed by a former High Court Judge Priscilla Chigumba who is well versed with the operations of the law.
Surprisingly ZEC is going ahead with the by-elections preparation as if nothing is happening at the courts. ZEC has notified the President of vacancies in the constituencies and ballot papers for the by-elections have been printed as reported in the media.
ZEC is not leaving it to chance that the courts may declare that Tshabangu is an imposter who acted illegally to cause all this chaos in Parliament, Senate and City Council Chambers.
If Tshabangu loses the court case, ZEC would have wasted public money for an election that would not take place. ZEC is not worried about public funds and this behaviour leaves people wondering whether ZEC already knows the outcome of the court proceedings?
ZEC is not alone in the disregard of the judicial proceedings, the Minister of Local Government has joined in the fray by continuously acting to Tshabangu instructions, recalling Councillors and further instructing the Councils to hold elections to replace the recalled Mayors.
This again notwithstanding the fact that there is a court interdict to stop Tshabangu from carrying out further recalls. Both the Minister and Parliament are ignoring the interdict by proceeding to act on Tshabangu letters.
It is common knowledge that what is going on is against the law or the rule of law. It is not a coincidence that the Executive and the Parliament Presiding officers are singing from the same hymn book in disregarding the law, but it is a well-choreographed move to get rid of the CCC elected members in both Parliament and Councils.
All the actors are from Zanu PF political party and their Bishop is one. Zanu PF is going on with the campaigns, threats, abductions and killings in order to win the by-elections so that they can get a three thirds majority in Parliament.
The Local Government Minister is pressurising the Councillors to carry out illegal elections to replace the Mayors with the objective of bringing in Commissioners to run local council under the disguise that CCC have failed to come up with the Mayors throughout the Councils in the event that they ignore the Minister’s instructions.
CCC as a law abiding party finds itself in a conundrum; if they don’t partake in the illegal proceedings, they fear being booted out of Council and Parliament completely. They participate just to thwart the machinations of Zanu PF to gain control of both Parliament and Councils through a back door chicanery.
The behaviour of state institutions in the whole process is a total sham. The Zimbabwean public may be forgiven for concluding that the judiciary is captured and therefore the outcome of court proceedings is already known by those behind the illegal moves.
Under such cloudy circumstances, If CCC does nothing about all the illegal moves being pushed through the state institutions, Zanu PF can just wake up with a three thirds majority in Parliament without people voting in the by-elections.
CCC has no choice but to do everything in their power to preserve the citizens’ vote.
The nature of disregard to the rule of law has hit a record high and has not been witnessed even during the colonial era. The colonial era had its own share regarding oppression and suppression of the black majority but they somehow respected the courts.
The current issue in Zimbabwe is about the level of disregard, especially in a liberated country from colonialism. It is therefore true that Zimbabweans are freed from colonisation but not freed from the suppression of ordinary people’s rights by those in control of state power.
Alexios P. Makotose
Chivi Central
