Speaking in parliament last night during the committee reading stage of the Constitutional Amendment Bill (Number One), Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa said Zanu-PF was representing the will of the people by amending the Constitution to give powers to the President to appoint the Chief Justice, his deputy and High Court judge president.
Said Mnangagwa:
The will of the people in this chamber is represented by the ruling party. Who represents the public interest in this House? It is the ruling party. The public interest is expressed through the majority of the ruling party. It is an elementary jurisprudential point. We have three arms of the State, the judiciary, legislature and executive and you have another person who is the Head of the State. He is the head of the executive but plays another responsibility of heading all the three arms.
Mnangagwa’s comments come after Kuwadzana East MP, Nelson Chamisa said that it was not in the public interest to amend the Constitution 4 years after its adoption. He also said that giving the President powers to make key appointments violated the doctrine of separation of powers arms of State.
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