End of the road for CJ

Zimbabwe’s High Court on Thursday ruled that President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s decision to extend Chief Justice Luke Malaba’s tenure was invalid. Malaba was last month forced out of office after the High Court nullified the extension of his term. Days before his 70th birthday, Mnangagwa extended the CJ’s term by another five years. The judgment stated that Malaba ceased to hold the CJ's office as of midnight on 15 May. A SowetanLIVE report notes that the Bench also ruled that Malaba will not benefit from Constitutional Amendment 2 enacted by Mnangagwa. The extension of term provided by section 186 of the Constitution does not apply to any sitting judges of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court. Zanu-PF, with the help of the MDC-T, sailed the amendments through the Senate, where Zanu-PF does not hold a two-thirds majority. Lobbyists and the opposition argued that extending Malaba’s tenure was an assault on democracy and the rule of law because, with Malaba at the helm, the legal system would rest in Zanu-PF’s hands ahead of the 2023 general elections. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Union said ‘we thank the judges for ignoring political interference and ensuring that justice is served’. Lawyer and MDC Alliance deputy chairperson Job Sikhala said the three judges who arrived at the decision ‘fought so much to restore the dignity in the judiciary and restoration of the rule of law’.