The public hearing on Constitutional Amendment Bill No.1 had to be called off after activists from the MDC-T and Zanu PF came to blows over the issue. The Bill seeks to remove public hearings and to give the President full discretion to appoint the Chief Justice, Deputy Chief Justice and Judge President of the High Court.
The aborted hearings were taking place at Nehanda Hall in Dombotombo, Marondera. Over 300 people attended the public hearing and some members of the public managed to submit written questions to the Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs before the chaos began. All the trouble started when MDC-T and Zanu PF activists started trading insults. The insults escalated until the two groups confronted each other and started fighting in the hall.
The committee had no option but to call off the public hearing. However MDC-T chief whip and Mutare Central MP, Innocent Gonese blamed the Zimbabwe Republic Police for not attending the event to maintain law and order.
More: New Zimbabwe