The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information, Broadcasting and Publicity Services, Nick Mangwana has said the president cannot go into conflict with the courts.

He said the president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, respects the principle of Separation of Powers. Reads Nick’s Twitter post seen by Pindula News this Monday:

The President cannot go into conflict with the courts. He respects the principle of Separation of Powers. The courts themselves are not citing political reasons for their decisions but purely legal ones.

Context:

His remarks come amid allegations that the executive arm of the government was interfering with other arms of government, particularly the judiciary.

Critics and the opposition argue that the executive was influencing the judiciary to prolong the detention of opposition Members of Parliament, Job Sikhala (Zengeza West) and Godfrey Sithole (Chitungwiza North).

The duo was arrested together with 14 Nyatsime residents over the 14 June violence that erupted during the funeral wake of slain Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) activist, Moreblessing Ali.

They have been in prison since 14 June with courts denying them bail on several occasions.

Recent remarks by a Law professor, Lovemore Madhuku, that the detained politicians were victims of their party’s refusal to dialogue with President Mnangagwa resulted in some arguing that the president was ordering the courts to prolong the detentions.

Meaning of Nick’s Twitter Post:

In essence, the doctrine of Separation of power mentioned in Nick Mangwana’s Twitter post stipulates that for a free and democratic society to exist, there must be a clear separation between the three branches of government, namely:

i). The Executive, which is the branch that executes the business of government. It comprises the President, Vice-Presidents and Ministers, the Public Service, the Defence Forces, the Police Force and other law-enforcement organisations. All the administrative, law-enforcement and coercive organs of the State fall within the Executive Branch, making it potentially the most powerful of the three branches of government unless its powers are subject to limitations. 

ii). The Legislature, which is the law-making branch. In Zimbabwe, it consists of the Senate and the House of Assembly.

iii). The Judicial Branch, which interprets the law. It comprises judicial officers and the courts over which they preside. In Zimbabwe, the courts are divided into superior courts, namely the Supreme Court and the High Court, and the lower courts, which are principally magistrates courts and customary-law courts. There are also specialised courts such as the Administrative Court, the Labour Court and the Fiscal Appeal Court.

Mangwana is saying the judiciary, the legislature and the executive work independently without interference from the other.

However, government critics cite the dismissal of some judges over “dubious reasons,” and the alleged “usurpation” of the Parliamentary role by some members of the executive, as proof that there is no separation of powers in Zimbabwe.

In 2018, President Mnangagwa claimed to have ordered the release of Tendai Biti, a former Minister of Finance During the Government of National Unity (GNU).

Pindula News