Dominated by the trade unions, churches, teachers, and individuals from the legal profession, this meeting was significant in that it was attended by representatives of all the opposition political parties. Hosted by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, it was chaired by then ZCTU Secretary General, Morgan Tsvangirai, and now President of the MDC. Also of note is the fact that the independent politician, Margaret Dongo, was tasked by the organizers of the Assembly to give a viewpoint from the opposition.
Numerous studies on the Constitution of Zimbabwe have largely decried the erosion of human rights through the Mugabe regimes constitutional amendments. In an earlier study, Daniel Compagnon and I aptly note:
However, the Third Parliament has been characterised by renewed attempts to undermine the Supreme Court and minimise the importance of the Bill of Rights, which is part of the Constitution. According to David Coltart, a Bulawayo-based lawyer and Human Rights activist, …there have been further constitutional amendments which have withdrawn rights of citizens rather than enhance them … actions of government in reversing closely-considered judgements of the Supreme Court in interpreting fundamental human rights provisions, pardons for no obvious reasons of criminals whose appeals have been dismissed by the Supreme Court, and holding judgements in utter contempt. Retired Chief Justice E. Dumbutshena who said that Zimbabwes respect for human rights had deteriorated from 1990 with successive constitutional amendments relating to corporal punishment for juveniles, property rights and the death penalty, rushed in Parliament to overrule Supreme Court judgements, echoed this observation.
Several amendments to the constitution have confirmed this penchant for whittling away human rights that the Mugabe regime seems to have. For example, the Constitutional Amendment Number 16 barred the courts from adjudicating in disputes pertaining to compensation offered to white commercial farmers whose land would have been compulsorily acquired by the government. It is however important to remember that the ultimate purpose of this manipulation of the constitution is to retain political power for the ruling party. In yet another study, I observe as follows:
It is obvious that the primary objectives of … Zanu (PF) in proposing these amendments were to ensure its perpetuation in power. Indeed, apart from incrementally diminishing the basic human rights of the citizens and residents of Zimbabwe, the amendments also guarantee the that party unassailable opportunities to remain in office for as long as the leadership of that party desires.
Constitution amendment #17:
We note the following interesting features of this piece of legislation:
1. This amendment practically transformed the whole Constitution of Zimbabwe as we previously knew it. It amended significantly a total of nine sections of the constitution as well as added eight new sections to the constitution.
2. Some of the amendments were made in order to accommodate such diabolical laws as POSA and AIPPA. For example Section 22 on freedom of movement.
3. Other sections were amended in order to accommodate the re-introduced Senate.
4. New sections were introduced to create the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and to retire the Electoral Supervisory Commission.
5. The 17 amendments have created a document whose primary role is to curtail democratic space by protecting the incumbent ruling political party from public scrutiny and public choice of both the nations leadership and the policies through which the nation is governed.
6. There is an urgent need for the writing of a new, home brewed constitution with the full participation of the citizens of this country.
Studies on elections in Zimbabwe have generally demonstrated that, as conducted by the Mugabe government, most of the elections have suffered from the following critical problems or defects:
Widespread intimidation of the electorate, mainly by elements within the Zanu (PF) party;
Systematic use of state resources, including vehicles, aircraft, personnel and even finances, by Zanu (PF), with other political parties being denied access to the same resources;
Questionable and, sometimes, grossly prejudicial handling of the electoral process by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the Registrar-General;
Inequitable coverage of the contesting parties by the government-owned mass media, which gave preferential treatment to Zanu (PF);
The existence of legislation which ensures that Zanu (PF) would have a head-start through the presidential appointment of non-constituency members of parliament and ten representatives of the chiefs.
It is from this backdrop that the history of the constitution making process in Zimbabwe can be discussed. In response to the civil society pressure for a new and democratic constitution, the Mugabe regime appointed the Chidyausiku Commission to draft a new document. The final document was allegedly amended overnight to include provisions that required Britain to compensate white commercial farmers for any land that the state would compulsorily acquire. There were also several other provisions that were included but that had not been agreed upon by the Commission.
A referendum was conducted in February 2000, and the electorate resoundingly rejected the fraudulent document. The NCA and the MDC were in the forefront of the victory of the No vote and this incensed the Mugabe regime, which proceeded to sponsor violent invasions of white-owned commercial farms.
Meanwhile the country remained locked in the dubious Lancaster House Constitution which has since been amended some nineteen times. The current exercise has to succeed in producing a compromise constitution, but one that will enable the nation to proceed to hold elections as soon as a referendum is completed and the adoption of a new foundation law is effected. Unfortunately there is ample evidence that the outgoing ruling party, Zanu (PF), is determined to either impose the ridiculous Kariba Draft (Daft) or to wreck the process, thereby forcing Zimbabwe to maintain the current constitution.
Post published in: Opinions