News / National
Tomana's wings to be clipped - Mwonzora
28 Feb 2012 at 04:34hrs | Views
BULAWAYO - Douglas Mwonzora the Constitutional Parliamentary Committee (Copac) MDC co-chairperson has revealed that Attorney General's (AG), wings will be clipped by the new constitution saying he will not have powers to prosecute.
Speaking at the memorial service of the late MDC senator for Mabutweni constituency Gladys Gombami held at the Large City Hall in Bulawayo on Saturday, Mwonzora said under the new constitution the AG will only remain a government legal advisor and won't have any powers to prosecute.
He said an independent body responsible for persecution will be set.
"We have agreed in Copac that, the AG should remain as a government legal advisor because the office has been used mostly to prosecute those people opposed to the President and government of the time.
"We had some people prosecuted while some don't get prosecuted after committing the same crime.
"So this is going to stop under a new constitution; we are going to have an independent body led by a prosecutor-general, who will be appointed by Parliament," said Mwonzora.
Current Attorney General Johannes Tomana, a self-confessed Zanu PF supporter, is one of the outstanding issues of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that led to the formation of the Zimbabwe unity government.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC have been demanding Tomana's removal as one of the many pre-conditions for the holding of free and fair elections, accusing the AG of prosecuting people in a partisan manner.
The MDC argues that Tomana's unilateral appointment in December 2008 was irregular because the GPA signed in September of that year stipulated that President Robert Mugabe needed to consult Tsvangirai on such appointments.
Mugabe has vigorously resisted this demand.
Last year Tomana told the Daily News that Tsvangirai and the MDC should instead learn to respect him.
Speaking at the memorial service of the late MDC senator for Mabutweni constituency Gladys Gombami held at the Large City Hall in Bulawayo on Saturday, Mwonzora said under the new constitution the AG will only remain a government legal advisor and won't have any powers to prosecute.
He said an independent body responsible for persecution will be set.
"We have agreed in Copac that, the AG should remain as a government legal advisor because the office has been used mostly to prosecute those people opposed to the President and government of the time.
"We had some people prosecuted while some don't get prosecuted after committing the same crime.
"So this is going to stop under a new constitution; we are going to have an independent body led by a prosecutor-general, who will be appointed by Parliament," said Mwonzora.
Current Attorney General Johannes Tomana, a self-confessed Zanu PF supporter, is one of the outstanding issues of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) that led to the formation of the Zimbabwe unity government.
Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and the MDC have been demanding Tomana's removal as one of the many pre-conditions for the holding of free and fair elections, accusing the AG of prosecuting people in a partisan manner.
The MDC argues that Tomana's unilateral appointment in December 2008 was irregular because the GPA signed in September of that year stipulated that President Robert Mugabe needed to consult Tsvangirai on such appointments.
Mugabe has vigorously resisted this demand.
Last year Tomana told the Daily News that Tsvangirai and the MDC should instead learn to respect him.
Source - Daily News
