5 ConCourt judges sworn in

FIVE Constitutional Court (ConCourt) judges were Thursday sworn in at a ceremony presided over by Acting Chief Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza.

The five are are; Ben Hlatshwayo, Paddington Garwe, Anne-Marie Gowora, Rita Makarau and Bharat Patel who will constitute the full bench of the Constitutional Court together with Gwaunza.

The five were confirmed as ConCourt judges by President Emmerson Mnangagwa Wednesday after attending public interviews in September last year.

Before the latest appointments, the five judicial officers were just acting ConCourt judges.

Speaking to the media after the swearing-in, Justice Ministry secretary Virginia Mabhiza, said the new appointments showed there was no constitutional crisis in Zimbabwe as alleged by government critics.

"There is no crisis at all, the courts are functional and as you can see today, we have witnessed the appointment of judges," she said.

Her comments follow statements issued by lawyers challenging the extension by President Emmerson Mnangagwa of former Chief Justice Luke Malaba's term of office beyond his retirement age of 70.

The decision was reversed by High Court judges who ruled that it was "unconstitutional".

The state has since appealed the ruling at the Supreme Court.

"We normally do not wish to comment on cases before the courts but the fact that we have noted an appeal on behalf of the government shows the confidence that we have. That is what I can only say now since the matter is sub judice," Mabhiza told journalists.

Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, who brazenly threatened judges for blocking Malaba's reappointment, refused to speak to the media claiming he was rushing for some other engagement elsewhere.