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Zimbabwean Files Lawsuit to Block Drafting of New Constitution


Parliament of Zimbabwe
Parliament of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe's Second All Stakeholders Conference, set to begin next week, hangs in the balance after the parliamentary select committee (COPAC) organizing the constitutional meeting was sued in the High Court Wednesday by a Zimbabwean seeking to halt the process.

Danny Musukuma, a Harare man who is usually referred to as a political and economic analyst on the national broadcaster - the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation - filed an urgent chamber application seeking an order to stop the conference until COPAC publishes in the local media the national statistical report detailing the views of people gathered during the outreach phase.

This is the second lawsuit after the president of the Federation of Non-Governmental Organizations, Goodson Nguni, also filed an application seeking to force COPAC to publish the national statistical report ahead of the conference.

Nguni argues that the draft constitution produced by COPAC does not represent views collected from the public during the outreach phase.

The MDC formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai opposed Nguni’s application but Zanu PF refused to do the same.

Delegates to the conference are in the meantime expected to start arriving by the end of the week.

A member of the COPAC management committee, Priscilla Misihairambwi Mushonga, of the MDC formation led by Industry Minister Welshman Ncube said the latest suit is misplaced.

Meanwhile, the drama surrounding COPAC continues with Zanu PF's parliamentary select committee co-chairman Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana filing papers Wednesday to sue the ZBC for allegedly defaming him over the constitution-making process.

The broadcasting station said Mangwana is a sell-out after allegedly failing to promote Zanu PF ideas in the writing of the constitution.

Co-chairman Douglas Mwonzora said he' is also contemplating suing the ZBC for defaming him.
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