By Rawlings Magede
Events of the past month have
happened so fast and left many without much to do except to just watch as
events unfold. Half of Legislators from the MDC-T led by Douglas Mwonzora voted
in favour of the controversial Constitutional Amendment Bill No.2.The Bill has ascended
to the Senate where it is likely to sail through without much opposition. In
response to public outcry over this unfortunate move,MDC-T leader Douglas
Mwonzora conducted a press conference during the week where he admitted that
half of his Legislators had voted in favour of
bill number while the other half
voted against it. “Those who voted Yes
were voting for the women’s quota, the youth quota, the quota of women in council
and devolution. Those who voted No from our camp were voting no to the running
mate and the judges’ clause. We think their behavior was reasonable.”, he said.
He also highlighted that his there was no backlash or disciplinary measures for
those who had voted in favour of the bill. Such a confession exposes his party
for lacking clarity and a position on the proposed amendment bill given that in
the past he had opposed any amendments highlighting that before any amendments
could be effected, there was need to implement the constitution fully. In the
wake of public backlash over this issue, Presidential Spokesperson, George Charamba
branded the opposition outfit “out of depth” for having voted for the bill.
The
history of Constitutional reform in Zimbabwe
Many years ago, I had the
opportunity to watch the documentary of the constitution making process dubbed,
“Mugabe and the Democrats” by renowned Danish film maker, Camilla Nielsson. It
made sad viewing. One of the most suppressed debates during the rushed
constitution making process was the manner in which even civil society colluded
with opposition political parties to endorse a process that had failed to meet
the principles of a people driven constitution making process. I remember
during such times, those who dared question the process were either labeled or
thrown off the gravy train that was fast moving towards Judgement day.
The documentary by
Nielsson aptly captures the highs and lows of the constitution making process.
In it, you came face to face with two desperate COPAC co-chairs, whose long
time friendship was tested time and again due to pressure from their principals
in the inclusive government. The documentary also exposes the desperation of
the two men who wanted the process done with never mind the irregularities. It remains a complex puzzle on why we have useless
Chapter 12 Institutions that are supposed to be independent but yet
Commissioners in these institutions serve at the mercy of a sitting President.
Did this really come from the people or was some horse-trading between the
parties in the inclusive government? The documentary however offers a reference
point for future generations that will continue to stir debate and remain on their restless lips for
years to come. The new constitution that many describe as progressive has all
but failed to deepen our democracy. If anything, we have even recorded
increased attacks on fundamental liberties such as the right to petition and
demonstrate, right of arrested and detained persons, right to personal security
among other liberties. The process of realigning and repealing draconian laws
has been met with stiff resitance.The political will to do such a process in
earnest has been hard to come by. If anything the disregard for the constitution
has even intensified under military rule that kicked in 2017 when Mugabe was
ousted.
Why
Mwonzora and co are doomed
The opposition is
fragmented. The MDC has splint into various formations in the past and over the
years we have seen erstwhile cadres finding each other again under a united
front. Never in the history of opposition fights have we seen the complicit
hand of the state remote controlling the turn of events. The controversial
ruling made by the courts to gift Douglas Mwonzora with the power to claim the
party’s Headquarters, political parties financing and control of Legislators
has exposed his political outfit. Apart from this, Mwonzora has gravely exposed
himself as a leader who lacks principles. It only took him a matter of seconds
to shred and reverse gains in the new constitution by allowing his Legislators
to collude with ZANU PF to vote for the controversial amendment bill. The will
of the overwhelming number of people who voted in favour of the constitution
has been overturned. In my view, there is nothing wrong with amending the
constitution but in our case, we haven’t even enjoyed the benefits that came
with it. We haven’t fully implemented the constitution owing to the lack of
political will and grandstanding on the part of the state.
For example, there is
Section 210 of the constitution that is yet to be operationalised.This
important provision empowers the public to drag members of the security
services to a Commission to seek redress on issues of misconduct on the part of
members of the security services. The majority of people who voted in favour of
this provision appreciated the need to have such a mechanism in place given
their experience with members of the security services especially in past
episodes of state sponsored violence such as Murambatsvina, Gukurahundi and the
2008 violence. Section 210 is one among many provisions that are yet to be
operationalised.The 2023 elections will signal an end to most political careers
in our country. Among those people will be Mwonzora and his outfit who have
subverted the will of the people by endorsing unnecessary amendments to a relatively
new and unused constitution. What do citizens stand to benefit from amendments
that concentrate power and authority in the hands of a sitting President?
In the final analysis the
argument by Mwonzora in his defense of voting in favour of the amendments is
invalid and misplaced. There is no need to extend the Women’s Parliamentary
quota system. We need to implement the equality clause in the constitution so
that women have 50/50 share of positions right from even Local Authorities. On
the Youth quota, it is just pure political tokenism meant to absolve loud cries
from young people on political exclusion. What we need is a framework that
ensures that youths are integrated and supported at all levels.
Rawlings Magede is a Development Practitioner
who writes here in his personal capacity. Feedback on vamagede@gmail.com
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