News / National
Mugabe could be constitutionally illiterate
01 Oct 2016 at 13:28hrs | Views
DESPITE being an intelligent man, 92-year Zimbabwe president Robert Mugabe could be constitutionally illiterate given his public utterances and attacks on members of the judiciary, Harare West MP Jessie Majome (MDC-T), a lawyer by training has said.
"I don't believe the President has read the Constitution even though I saw him signing it. I am saying so looking at the way he attacked judges," Majome said.
Mugabe recently attacked High Court judges after they granted opposition parties their right to demonstrate against his government over allegations that he had failed to administer Zimbabwe properly.
Debating during the Alpha Media Holdings (AMH)-organised public meeting on Thursday on the state of constitutionalism, Majome also took aim at Mugabe saying he was not legally mandated to open parliament as is happening.
"This is illegal. The Constitution is very clear that Parliament shall determine as when it shall sit, not the President. It says Parliament has to make its own timetables. What is very disheartening is that the President is failing in his mandate to do what the Constitution provides for to be done. He is not coming to Parliament to present the annual state of the nation address, but wants to preside over an illegal thing," Majome argued.
"It is unfortunate that as MPs at times, we don't question some of these things. We do certain illegal things. There is this thing which next week we are supposed to do. It's called opening of Parliament. I understand that Parliament agreed that at the beginning of each sitting session we invite the President to come and officially open Parliament," Majome said.
Mugabe is next week expected to officially open the fourth session of the 8th Parliament where he will table the government legislative agenda for 2016-2017 period.
The discussion also featured former Finance minister Tendai Biti, Zanu PF central committee member and constitutional lawyer Paul Mangwana and Zimbabwe Democracy Institute director Pedzisai Ruhanya.
"I don't believe the President has read the Constitution even though I saw him signing it. I am saying so looking at the way he attacked judges," Majome said.
Mugabe recently attacked High Court judges after they granted opposition parties their right to demonstrate against his government over allegations that he had failed to administer Zimbabwe properly.
Debating during the Alpha Media Holdings (AMH)-organised public meeting on Thursday on the state of constitutionalism, Majome also took aim at Mugabe saying he was not legally mandated to open parliament as is happening.
"It is unfortunate that as MPs at times, we don't question some of these things. We do certain illegal things. There is this thing which next week we are supposed to do. It's called opening of Parliament. I understand that Parliament agreed that at the beginning of each sitting session we invite the President to come and officially open Parliament," Majome said.
Mugabe is next week expected to officially open the fourth session of the 8th Parliament where he will table the government legislative agenda for 2016-2017 period.
The discussion also featured former Finance minister Tendai Biti, Zanu PF central committee member and constitutional lawyer Paul Mangwana and Zimbabwe Democracy Institute director Pedzisai Ruhanya.
Source - NewsDay
