Constitution Amendment Bill: War veterans sue Mnangagwa over “unconstitutional power grab”

A group of war veterans has filed an application before the Constitutional Court, accusing President Emmerson Mnangagwa of violating the Constitution by initiating a proposed amendment that would extend his term in office and transfer the power to elect the President from the public to the Parliament of Zimbabwe.

The Constitution Amendment Bill was recently approved by the Cabinet.

The six applicants, Reuben Zulu, Godfrey Gurira, Shoorai Nyamangodo, Joseph Chinyangare, Digmore Knowledge Ndiya and Joseph Chinguwa are seeking an order declaring the cabinet’s approval of Constitutional Amendment Bill (No.3) null and void and interdicting Mnangagwa from assenting to the draft law.

They are represented by constitutional lawyer Lovemore Madhuku.

In their application, they argue that the President “placed his personal interests above the Constitution” by chairing a Cabinet meeting that approved the draft Constitutional Amendment Bill.

“The 1st Respondent (Mnangagwa) was inaugurated for his second, and final, five-year term as President of Zimbabwe on 4 September 2023, at which occasion he took the Presidential Oath, in which he solemnly undertook to obey, uphold, and defend the Constitution, to protect and promote the rights of the people of Zimbabwe, to oppose whatever may harm Zimbabwe, and to devote himself to the well-being of the nation and its people. This was in accordance with Schedule 3 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe

“In casu by chairing, directing, and procuring Cabinet’s initiation and approval of a constitutional project designed to extend his own tenure and directly and shamelessly infringe my political rights as enshrined in s 67 of the Constitution. It is self-evident that the 1st Respondent has placed his personal interest on the scales of constitutional change. He has done so under the cloak of collective Cabinet decision-making, acting through the Minister of Justice as his functionary and agent in the formulation of constitutionally impermissible proposals,” said the war veterans.

Zulu also said even before Cabinet deliberations, Mnangagwa had begun to rescind his oath by failing to defend and respect the constitution by permitting members of his party to generate resolutions calling for a term extension that is constitutionally prohibited.

“His oath required him to subordinate partisan wishes to constitutional fidelity. Instead, he allowed-and indeed authorised-the Minister of Justice to give formal expression to a constitutionally impermissible resolution, culminating in the drafting of an amendment that is illegal at its core.”

Zulu deposed an affidavit on behalf of his colleagues, who also tendered supporting affidavits saying the amendment is “a direct assault on the liberation values we fought for.”

“The Constitution cannot be redesigned by those who stand to benefit from its distortion. Section 328(7) is clear, an incumbent cannot profit from amendments that extend their term. Yet the President is doing exactly that.”

The veterans accuse the President of breaching several constitutional obligations, including the duty to uphold and defend the Constitution, avoid conflicts of interest, and protect democratic foundations such as universal suffrage.

They argue that the proposed amendment, which allows Parliament, not voters, to elect the President for an additional two years, represents what they call “a constitutional coup cloaked in Cabinet procedure.”

According to the filing, the Cabinet’s approval of the Bill is evidence that the President is “acting through surrogates to achieve what the Constitution expressly prohibits.”

The applicants insist that their challenge is rooted in their liberation war legacy.

“One person, one vote is not just a slogan,” Zulu states in his affidavit. “It is the foundation of the republic. The President cannot replace the people with Parliament as the source of executive authority.”

The veterans are seeking a declaratory order blocking the passage or processing of the proposed amendment and a ruling that the President has failed to fulfil his constitutional duties.

The Attorney-General of Zimbabwe is cited as the second respondent.

The matter is yet to be heard.

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