Mnangagwa accuse Chidyausiku of violating the constitution

Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa has accused Retired Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku of violating the constitution by appointing retired judge, Justice Vernanda Ziyambi to serve as an acting judge of the Constitutional and Supreme courts for a further year after mandatory retirement age without administering the oath.

Vice President Mnangagwa, who is also in charge of the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, said retired Chief Justice Chidyausiku violated section 185(2) of the constitution which requires a judge to take an oath of office upon appointment.

He raised this issue on the basis that the letter of Justice Ziyambi's appointment by retired Chief Justice Chidyausiku did not address the issue of an oath.

However, Retired Chief Justice Chidyausiku and Justice Ziyambi maintain the appointment was done in terms of the constitution.

In his notice of opposition, Retired Chief Justice Chidyausiku challenged the arguments raised by Romeo Zibani who challenged the Supreme Court decision quashing the High Court order by Justice Charles Hungwe barring the holding of Chief Justice's interviews last year.

Justice Ziyambi also defended her appointment to the bench after the mandatory 70 year age limit, saying she is an acting judge of the Constitutional and Supreme courts by virtue of a constitutional appointment.

In another case former cabinet minister, Olivia Muchena has been dragged to the High Court by the Parliament of Zimbabwe over US$35 000 advanced to her as a loan for the purpose of purchasing a motor vehicle when she was still a legislator.

The Parliament of Zimbabwe in its declaration says it entered into a verbal agreement with Muchena for the advancement of the loan which was supposed to be repaid through a stop order facility.

The agreement allegedly stipulated that in the event of Muchena ceasing to be a member of parliament before the expiry of her term of office through expulsion, parliament would be entitled to claim the balance of the loan together with any other expenses incurred in recovering such monies.

Following the agreement, Muchena allegedly bought a Ford Ranger T6 before she was expelled from parliament by her party on the 17th of March 2015.

After calculations, Muchena allegedly owes parliament US$32 000.

In response, Muchena requested further particulars on how the sum was advanced and the details of payment as well as the details of the payment plan.