Prof Moyo hits back at the 'Copac mafia'

Zanu-PF politburo member Professor Jonathan Moyo has told the constitutional select committee to 'bring it on!' after two co-chairs of the body threatened to charge him with contempt of Parliament, leading to possible impeachment.

Cheesed-off by Prof. Moyo's criticism of their conduct in the ongoing constitutional reform process, COPAC co-chairs Douglas Mwonzora (MDC-T) and Edward Mkhosi (MDC) said the Tsholotsho North legislator could face contempt charges when Parliament resumes sitting.

"Professor Moyo is clearly in contempt of Parliament. His abuse of COPAC has gone beyond fair criticism. The committee will seek to have him charged for contempt of the House," Mwonzora said, according to the Sunday Mail.

"At law, he can be charged and we are confident that, if the law is strictly followed, he will be found guilty. We are not trying to suppress criticism, but we will not tolerate abuse of the body (COPAC)."

Mkhosi added: "We shall approach the Speaker when sitting resumes next month to thrash out the issue of Prof Moyo's un-parliamentary behaviour. If he has a bone to chew with the committee, we believe that the right platform to do so will be in Parliament.

"We are confident that even members of Zanu-PF within the committee will support this position. Prof. Moyo has no grounds whatsoever to refer to the body as a mafia."

The select committee is expected to discuss the proposed action against Moyo at a meeting set for Monday.

But Prof. Moyo shot back: " … they will get more than they have bargained for, given that the making of a new constitution is not their personal business but the business of every Zimbabwean.

"COPAC is not a parliamentary process and cannot therefore sustain any charge of contempt of Parliament against anybody. Yes, the formation of COPAC was announced in Parliament in 2009 and Parliament was involved in the running of COPAC up to the chaotic first stakeholders' conference.

"After that conference all hell broke loose and COPAC literally left Parliament in every sense but name. Since then COPAC has not conducted itself in terms of any standing order or rule of Parliament; none whatsoever. Parliament's presiding officers have had no role whatsoever in COPAC."

Prof. Moyo said if anyone should face contempt charges it was COPAC themselves for disregarding the views of the majority of Zimbabweans gathered during the constitutional outreach programme.

"The views of the people have not officially been published, arguably to enable the Copac mafia to ignore or manipulate them as we have indeed seen happen," he said.

"The same contempt has been shown in how the COPAC mafia has responded against anyone who has said anything critical of COPAC's work or critical of the outcomes of some of its work in progress.

"Critical voices have been routinely labelled as laymen who should not be listened to as if the COPAC mafia is unaware of the fact that the overwhelming majority of its own members are not lawyers.

"According to one of its co-chairs Munyaradzi Paul Mangwana, (COPAC's) first working draft constitution … had at least 70 percent of its content smuggled onto the draft outside the views of the people.

"Who smuggled this content? Smuggling is mafia business and 70 percent is a very high figure and both considerations justify the conclusion that there's a COPAC mafia that uses the false cover of a people-driven process to smuggle into the draft constitution its own or some dark views typical of mafia-like behaviour."