MDC To Challenge 'Unconstitutional' MOPA In Court

The MDC led by Nelson Chamisa said that it will challenge the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act (MOPA) in court even if it is signed into law.

The country’s main opposition party challenged several provisions of the Bill in the Senate on Wednesday which it considers to be against the Constitution. Speaking during the debate over the Bill, Lillian Timveos who is also MDC Chief Whip, said:

This Bill is bringing sanctions to Zimbabwe because it is going against the Constitution which ZIDERA says we must follow.

The only anarchy that is happening in this country is corruption.

We are going to court even if it passes because it goes against 5 Clauses of the Constitution.

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Contributing to the same debate Senator Douglas Mwonzora concurred with Timveos adding that the law was defective in various ways which should make the Parliamentarians ashamed.

The convener is the person who writes the letter to the police and his deputy. What this law says is that once you are the convener you are criminally and civilly liable.

I want to take an example of Zanu PF as a party, they want to plan a demonstration about sanctions.

They will seat in their Politburo and in that Politburo they will never make their President, the head of that party, to be a convener.

They will look for a junior officer, either Secretary-General or PC, they will look for a junior officer to go and communicate the party decision.

What this bad law is saying is that that junior officer is personally liable.

Why are we sacrificing the weak, why are we sacrificing the less powerful? What this law is saying is that Zanu PF is innocent and it won’t be visited with criminal liability, it won’t be visited with civil liabilities but the convener will be visited with that.

More: Open Parly