President Emmerson Mnangagwa has defended his appointment of Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) commander General Philip Valerio Sibanda into the ZANU PF Politburo, reported ZimLive.
Mnangagwa appointed Sibanda as an ex-officio member of the Politburo during a ZANU PF annual people’s national conference held in Gweru last month.
Some legal commentators criticised the appointment arguing that it was unconstitutional.
However, addressing journalists on the sidelines of the Saudi Arabia-Africa Summit last week, President Mnangagwa said those who criticise the appointment are “mistaken”. He said:
People are mistaken, they think that General Sibanda is a civil servant. He is not a civil servant; first point.
Second point, he is an ex-officio member of the politburo which means that he is not a substantive member of the politburo, he cannot vote in the politburo. He is ex-officio.
So, there is no problem, there is no contradiction.
He is just a civil servant and I as the President can appoint anybody as an ex-officio member which means by virtue of a certain particular position you can be allowed to sit in our substantive body of the politburo. That’s how it is.
I don’t know who gets offended by him sitting in the politburo. He cannot vote but he can contribute.
In response to Mnangagwa’s remarks, former ZANU PF politburo member and ex-minister Saviour Kasukuwere said:
There is no such thing in the politburo called ex-officio! When did the politburo ever decide anything?
Bring me the ZANU PF constitution and show me where the President is empowered to appoint unilaterally anyone outside of the central committee.
Politburo members are drawn from central committee members who are elected and the 10 the president is empowered to appoint. Was he on the original list of central committee members!!!
Anyway, why waste time on a constitutional delinquent?
Mt Pleasant MP Fadzayi Mahere (CCC), who is also a lawyer, said:
This garbled explanation doesn’t cut it. Section 208 of the Constitution expressly states that members of the security services cannot be “office bearers” of any political party, ex-officio or not.
It’s not about voting or being a civil servant. The very holding of office is a clear infraction. The illegality is brazen and unprecedented.
Ahead of past elections, Zimbabwe’s military has been accused of intimidating villagers to vote for ZANU PF.
More: Pindula News