HARARE The committee overseeing Zimbabwes constitution-making process has resolved to remove a senior army officer whose controversial appointment to head a sub-committee on electoral reforms caused a furore a fortnight ago, it was established last week. (Pictured: Army Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba)Army Brigadier-General Douglas Nyikayaramba was named deputy chairperson of the thematic committee on elections, transitional mechanisms and independent commissions, according to a list published in September by the parliamentary select committee tasked with leading the constitution making process.
The former opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) party of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and political pressure groups immediately protested the appointment, charging that it was improper to have a serving army officer leading the process towards a new constitution.
Parliamentary select committee co-chairperson and MDC lawmaker Douglas Mwonzora said the decision to remove Brigadier Nyikayaramba was taken at Mondays joint meeting of the newly formed management committee. It was agreed that it will not be proper to have a serving member of the defence forces being a member of the committee because that would
be tantamount to involving uniformed officers in a process that is overtly political, Mwonzora told The Zimbabwean On Sunday last week.
He noted that when Brigadier Nyikayaramba was initially appointed, it was under the impression created at that time that he was no longer a serving officer. He is currently on secondment to the Ministry of Agriculture but Our understanding now is that Zanu (PF) is going to withdraw his name and nominate another person to take his place, Mwonzora said.
Brigadier Nyikayaramba was named in a recent document by local human rights groups as one of the army generals accused of masterminding political violence in the run-up to the June 2008 second round presidential election in a bid to cow Zimbabweans to support President Robert Mugabe after he lost the first round vote to Tsvangirai.
Mwonzora said last Mondays meeting also resolved to provide funding for the outreach programme under which the select committee would take the constitutional roadshow to the countrys 10 provinces.
Under the new arrangement, the government would make funds directly available to the select committee and bypass the Parliament administration as was previously the case. Mwonzora also revealed that the committee would soon advertise for positions on the proposed secretariat that would administer the constitution-making process. Zimbabwes constitutional reforms have been mired in controversy from the onset, with Zanu (PF) accused of wanting to impose on Zimbabweans the so-called Kariba Draft constitution that Mugabes party says was agreed to by the three main political parties.
Civic organisations and the MDC have criticised the Kariba Draft constitution that they say leaves largely untouched the wide-sweeping powers that Mugabe continues to enjoy even after formation of a power-sharing government. Zimbabweans hope a new constitution will guarantee human rights, strengthen the role of Parliament and curtail the president’s powers, as well as guaranteeing civil, political and media freedoms.
The new constitution will replace the current Lancaster House Constitution written in 1979 before independence from Britain. The charter has been amended 19 times since independence in 1980. Critics say the majority of the amendments have been to further entrench Mugabe and Zanu (PF)s hold on power.
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