Zanu PF says President Emmerson Mnangagwa has not captured the judiciary, contrary to claims contained in a hard-hitting petition signed by 161 individuals and submitted to the president a few days ago.
In an interview, the ruling Zanu PF’s information and communications director Tafadzwa Mugwadi, said the judiciary is an independent arm of the government as it is not being manipulated by the president for political benefits.
Mugwadi said the petition submitted by Dr. Ibbo Mandaza, executive chairman of the Southern African Political Economy Series Trust, contained baseless accusations designed to undermine the authority of the president.
In the petition signed by Mandaza, telecommunications mogul Strive Masiyiwa, former Zimbabwean prime minister Arthurr Mutambara, South Africa’s political icon Elinor Sisulu and others, Mnangagwa is accused of influencing the judiciary in denying bail to Citizens Coalition for Change lawmakers Job Sikhala and Godfrey Sithole and 14 others accused of inciting violence and obstructing the course of justice.
Mugwadi said, “If I’m not mistaken Dr. Ibbo Mandaza was a doctor some few years back and then I’m sure by now he is an associate professor. Now that’s exactly means what kind of professor do we have in southern Africa who thinks that the president is a member of the judiciary or the bench such that when there is an arrest on reasonable suspicion of commission of a crime it is incumbent on the president to release of a person whose case is before the judiciary. Which rules is he using, I don’t know. But all that I want to point out is that there are no political prisoners in Zimbabwe.
“Job Sikhala and his friends or accomplices were arrested at the crime scene in Chitungwiza, Nyatsime area. There is no doubt about that people’s houses were burnt, people’s cars were burnt, people’s houses were burnt, that people’s shops were arsorned, and that people’s houses were burnt by CCC hooligans at the instigation of Job Sikhala. And the video is there that testifies that and is duly before the courts, before the law. Now if anyone thinks that because of their ranks or high profiles in society, the law must spare them … Here is a very essential qualification of Zimbabwe’s democracy. No one is above the law. We are all equal before the law.”
Mugwadi said he would be in jail if he committed similar crimes. “And that process does not require the president of the Republic of Zimbabwe to intervene because we don’t interfere with the processes of the courts.”
But Den Moyo, an independent political analyst, says the courts have been captured by the ruling party ahead of the 2023 general elections.
“The judiciary should be independent. All what we see right now is Mnangagwa interfering with court processes. We know that he is in charge of appointing judges but have realized that in the last four years he has sacked four justices. That’s frightening. He is simply decimating the judiciary for political purposes.”
Four justices - Francis Bere, Erica Ndewere, Thompson James Mabhikwa and Faith Mushore – have been sacked for gross misconduct and incompetence.
According to ZimLive, Mushore was among some judges who last year handed a bold judgement declaring as unconstitutional, Mnangagwa’s unpopular extension of Chief Justice Luke Malaba’s term of office beyond his retirement age of 70.
In its petition, the 116 pro-democracy individuals said Mnangagwa's government is violating the rights of 16 Citizens Coalition for Change members currently in remand prison. They accused the Zanu PF government of behaving in a manner that is worse than the Ian Smith regime that jailed some of the present top leaders during the war of liberation of the 1960s.
The petition reads in part, "We, the undersigned, are citizens and persons who care about Zimbabwe. We petition Your Excellency to bring to your consideration, a most unusual situation obtaining in the arrest and detention of MPs Honourable Job Sikhala and Honourable Godfrey Sithole, and 14 residents of Nyatsime, Chitungwiza following the violence of 14 June 2022 in Nyatsime. Our duty to Zimbabwe constrains us from maintaining silence.
"The multiple denials of bail these two have endured, multiple times in the Magistrates Court and multiple times in the High Court, makes for an unusual and unprecedented situation. We cannot think of any prosecution in recent times where one has been denied bail for such numerous times, for offences of inciting public violence and obstruction of justice, which Honourable Sikhala is charged with, and inciting public violence, which Honourable Godfrey Sithole is charged with. MPs Job Sikhala and Godfrey Sithole have now spent 85 days in pre-trial incarceration at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison."
The petitioners are questioning the handling of the court cases by the judiciary.
"When this is juxtaposed to the timely and little-resisted granting of bail to high profile politically exposed persons accused of serious corruption, and they being flight risks, questions about the equal treatment of persons before the courts arise. There appear to be targeted differential treatment of those arrested and detained for charges emanating from political circumstances.
“During their incarceration, Honourable Sikhala and Honourable Sithole have been subjected to leg irons; their lawyers have in some instances been denied access – in once instance prompting a court application; and other concerned individuals have been prevented from visiting them. Honourable Sikhala’s health has deteriorated."
The petitioners also say while they noted the political violence that occurred in Nyastime, it is curious that arrest and detention was targeted at members and perceived supporters of the political opposition.
"No one associated with any other formation was arrested. Among the 14 residents currently in detention are victims of arson who were arrested upon presenting themselves to a police station to report the arson. In the case of Honourable Sikhala, he has been arrested over 60 times, and has never been convicted. He has no record of escaping justice. To then deny him bail on the basis that he has the propensity to offend the law, is curious. This is in spite of the Constitution providing for bail as a right only to be denied in exceptional circumstances.
"When the actors in the justice system appear to act in ways wholly contrary to their sworn duty and oath to uphold and implement the law without fear or favour, inferences of external hands in work of the judiciary are bound to arise. The offences that Honourable Sikhala, Honourable Sithole and the 14 residents of Nyastime are facing, have not had this kind of treatment visited upon anyone charged of them in recent times."
According to the petitioners, this treatment was commonplace during the times of the liberation struggle.
"In those days, such kind of arrests and detentions were known to be political, and many including those currently in public office, suffered those and are well aware of their evils. An observer witnessing these developments cannot help but draw parallels. Our belief is that law must maintain its supremacy and moral high ground above politics. The injustice is too visible to ignore, and we would be unfaithful in our devotion to the country if we remain silent.
"The law must have moral content, and its enforcement must have humanity. The Constitution of Zimbabwe is moral in both substance and process. The enforcement thereof is robbing the law and legal process that gives it authority, respect, recognition and supremacy. Judicial authority itself derives from the people, per section 162 of the Constitution."
They said Mnangagwa's office is charged with the sacrosanct duty as per section 90 of the Constitution to ensure that the Constitution and all other laws are faithfully observed, in particular, to ensure protection of the fundamental human rights and freedoms and the rule of law.
"Of the many rights, liberty and human freedom is a cornerstone right, a right that many Zimbabweans so reverently and fervently fought for. The unusual trajectory that these cases have taken cannot be ignored. These cases, in our view, warrant an inquiry into how the justice system has come to this. The consequences of ignoring this will be too dire for Zimbabwe’s young democracy to bear."
The petitioners say the criminal justice system was never created as a platform to silence or punish political dissent or holding of divergent views.
"When that happens, as is happening to Honourable Sikhala, Honourable Sithole and the 14 residents of Nyatsime, it erodes the value and essence of the criminal justice system and diminishes public confidence and trust in the justice system. That should not be allowed to happen. Where the criminal justice system is weaponized against dissent, there are no victors. The justice system, the accused and the generality of Zimbabweans derive no benefit from this. Should there be cause, by all means the law must take its course. But doing so without cause erodes confidence in the justice system. We expect a resolution to this abuse of law and process."