Tendai Biti's CDF issues 24-hour ultimatum over Majome removal

The Tendai Biti led Constitution Defenders Forum (CDF) has issued a 24-hour ultimatum to authorities to reinstate Jessie Majome as chairperson of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC), describing her removal as unconstitutional and politically motivated.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa relieved Majome of her duties over the weekend and reassigned her to the Public Service Commission as a commissioner. The move came just days after Majome criticised parliamentary public hearings on Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3.

CDF deputy spokesperson Chiedza Mulingwa told a press conference in Harare that the decision was intended to silence dissent against the proposed constitutional changes.

"As CDF we strongly condemn the brazen and unconstitutional removal of the chairperson of the ZHRC," Mulingwa said.

She argued that the Constitution does not empower the President to act in the manner alleged, describing the move as "calculated and retaliatory" and aimed at intimidating independent constitutional bodies.

"The proximity between her removal and her well-publicised concerns reinforces the conclusion that this action is politically motivated," she said.

The CDF warned that failure to reverse the decision within 24 hours would trigger legal action.

"We demand that this unconstitutional act be reversed immediately or within the next 24 hours, failing which we will be considering all lawful and available measures to challenge this illegal action and to simultaneously intensify efforts towards the withdrawal of Constitutional Amendment Bill Number 3 in its entirety," Mulingwa said.

The organisation accused President Mnangagwa of acting outside the confines of the Constitution by allegedly removing the head of a Chapter 12 commission "unilaterally, capriciously and arbitrarily."

"The President has no justifiable legal basis to act in the manner which he has done," Mulingwa said, adding that all office bearers, including the Head of State, are constitutionally bound to respect, uphold and defend the supreme law.

The CDF cited Section 237(2) of the Constitution, which outlines conditions under which members of independent commissions may be removed, including mental incapacity, gross incompetence or misconduct.

According to the group, none of these grounds had been publicly established in Majome's case, raising serious questions about the legality of her removal.