Tomana does not serve at Mugabe's pleasure

CONSTITUTIONAL expert Alex Magaisa has warned that no amount of political pressure could cause the expulsion of Prosecutor-General (PG) Johannes Tomana as the post was heavily protected by the Constitution.

Magaisa was reacting to recent threats by First Lady Grace Mugabe that Tomana should be fired for saying 12-year-old girls could legally consent to sex. Grace made the remarks at a ground-breaking ceremony for a low-cost housing project in Kadoma last Tuesday.

"Constitutionally, it is not as easy as the firing of a Vice-President that we witnessed last December. The Vice-President currently serves at the pleasure of the President and, therefore, the position depends entirely on the whims of the President.

The position in respect of the PG is different. The grounds of removal of the PG are quite strict and limited," Magaisa said.

He said Tomana's position was protected from political interference in the same manner as the judges.

"The PG's Office is heavily protected in the Constitution, in the same way that judicial office is protected. In terms of Section 259 (7) of the Constitution, the provisions applicable to the removal of a judge from office are used in respect of the removal of the PG from office," he said.

Magaisa added that Tomana could only be relieved of his duties by President Robert Mugabe acting on recommendations of an independent tribunal appointed in terms of the Constitution.

"In terms of S. 187(8), the President has a mandatory obligation to act in accordance with the tribunal's recommendation. This means the actual decision whether or not to remove the PG actually lies not with the President, but with the tribunal."

MDC- T spokesperson and lawyer Obert Gutu concurred, saying: "What this effectively means is that the Prosecutor-General cannot be dismissed from office by an announcement at a political rally."