Mnangagwa violated Constitution in challenging appointment of Chief Justice

Supreme Court judge Justice Bharat Patel said that former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa violated the Constitution of Zimbabwe when he sought to have the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) public interviews for a new Chief Justice suspended on the basis of a proposed amendment.

Said Justice Patel:

The third respondent’s conduct in seeking to have the operation of a constitutional provision suspended on the basis of a proposed constitutional amendment is obviously inconsistent with his obligations in terms of Section 2(2) of the Constitution (Doctrine of Supremacy of the Constitution). For a court to grant the privilege that he seeks would be tantamount to condoning a violation of those obligations, thereby posing a serious threat to the rule of law enshrined in Section 3(1) (b) of the Constitution.

Mnangagwa was however successful in amending the Constitution to give the President of Zimbabwe an
unfettered discretion to appoint a Chief Justice, Deputy Chief Justice and Judge President of his choice whenever such vacancies arise.

More: Chronicle

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