ZANU PF has said only the Constitutional Court can declare the appointment of the commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) General Phillip Valerio Sibanda to the ZANU PF politburo unconstitutional.
On 28 October 2023, during the ZANU PF annual conference in Gweru, President Emmerson Mnangagwa named General Sibanda as an ex officio member of the Politburo.
The appointment was criticised by lawyers and the opposition who said the Zimbabwe Constitution prohibits security service members from being active in political parties/organisations.
However, speaking to ZimLive, ZANU PF’s director of information and publicity Farai Marapira said that those who are criticising General Sibanda’s appointment to the Politburo are “misguided” and “loose cannons”. He said:
Firstly, it is saddening that for a people in a democracy, we still fail to appreciate and respect the fact that only courts of law have the right to speak with finality on matters constitutional and legal.
The Constitutional Court is clearly created and alive for such matters. Anyone else claiming the right to speak as an authority or with finality is clearly misguided and a loose cannon.
We, unfortunately, have personalities in our body politic who are prone to having engorged views of themselves and their opinions.
Last Saturday’s announcement of General Sibanda as an ex officio member of the politburo is wrong in the eyes of a few who may consider themselves learned when they are not.
Limiting interpretation of the appointment to one’s understanding of section 208 of the constitution of Zimbabwe alone is the result that has led to, in my view, a misguided take on matters.
Section 67 of the Constitution, which is sacrosanct, says every Zimbabwean citizen has the right to make political choices freely.
Let it be noted that Section 208 does not also prevent political choice but encourages members of the forces to not make partisan decisions in the execution of their duties.
Critics are adamant Mnangagwa breached his oath to uphold the Constitution by appointing Sibanda to the ZANU PF Politburo.
Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) spokesman Promise Mkwananzi said:
ZANU PF cannot keep breaking the law only to tell us to go to court. They must observe the law. The appointment is both unlawful and politically problematic. The general must step down if he chooses to be a politician.
Lawyer Thabani Mpofu argued that it was unconstitutional for General Sibanda to take up office in the ZANU PF Politburo. He added:
That does not require any debate, not even a dishonest one. Can you imagine the general taking up a post in the CCC? Not only is this disturbingly inappropriate, it is also vulgar.
If for instance, we were to take the decision to agitate, to carry out nationwide protests, to be civilly disobedient; how is General Sibanda going to respond to us?
Will he respond as a Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces or as a member of the lootocracy that ZANU PF is?
MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora, who is also a lawyer, said:
The appointment of the Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces General Sibanda into the Politburo of ZANU PF is totally wrong.
It marks a serious desecration of our constitution. It signals a serious and unacceptable conflation of the State, Army, and Party.
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