Zanu PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa’s admission that the ruling party interferes with the judiciary system is a serious cause for concern and deserves a response from the government and the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).
Mutsvangwa told a press conference last week that the more than 100 activists arrested in the run-up to the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) summit held in Harare last week can now be released because foreigners that could witness the callous abuse of human rights had since returned to their countries.
Police rounded up dozens of opposition members and civil society activists on allegations that they were planning protests to disrupt the Sadc summit.
The event came and went without any incident and that alone discredited claims by the police and the government that there were people planning to disrupt the regional meeting.
Referring to the imprisoned activists, Mutsvangwa said: “Those are deviants and they were dealt with properly. And we are happy they failed. And they will never succeed again.”
He laughed uncontrollably as he added that the activists can now be released. The ruling party spokesperson through those words was openly admitting that Zanu PF controls the judiciary.
Separation of powers dictates that the three arms of the state being the judiciary, legislature and the executive must not interfere with each other.
An independent judiciary is key for a country to maintain the rule of law. It is instrumental in protecting citizens and ensuring that their rights, which are guaranteed in the constitution are protected.
Zimbabwe’s constitution guarantees citizens’ rights to petition the executive and protests are not outlawed.
Mutsvangwa’s statements suggest that the government does not respect the constitution and that the ruling party abuses the law to fight its opponents.
It is in that light that we expect Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and the JSC to set the record straight on the matter.
Silence will mean that they endorse Mutsvangwa’s position and that would be a very dangerous signal for a country that has been battling for years now to clean its image after the reign of Robert Mugabe where Zimbabwe was regarded as a pariah state.
A country where there is no rule of law or where the judiciary is captured by the executive struggles to attract investors.
Tourists will also hesitate to visit a country where they can just be thrown into jail on the whims of a paranoid government.