By Lovemore Chazingwa Departments in the Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs are strongly urged to be realistic when coming out with strategies that dovetail into ministerial objectives, a top Government official has said. Justice Minister Honourable Ziyambi Ziyambi made the remarks when he officially opened his Ministry’s 2020 Strategic Plan Review Workshop at…
By Kumbirai Mafunda Masvingo High Court Judge Justice Sunsley Zisengwe on Monday 3 February 2020 reserved judgment on an application filed by a trade union and a pensioners’ rights lobby organisation challenging Finance and Economic Development Minister Hon. Mthuli Ncube’s unilateral decision to withhold publication of inflation figures in Zimbabwe. Justice Zisengwe reserved judgment after…
Ahead of a municipal by-election in Kuwadzana, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Alliance is accusing Zanu PF political commissar Victor Matemadanda of distributing 28 tonnes of maize meal in a “crass act of vote-buying in violation of the Electoral Act.” The biggest opposition party said since ZEC is ‘captured’, it will turn a…
By Lovemore Chazingwa in Kadoma. The City of Kadoma is set to receive a consignment of 13 mega water tanks each with a carrying capacity of 5000 litres that were purchased for the city by Kadoma Central Member of the House of Assembly Honourable Muchineripi Chinyanganya, mid this month. Hon. Chinyanganya told a recent ward…
By Veritas The Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 2) Bill was published in the Gazette on the 31st December 2019 and again on the 17th January 2020. It can be viewed on the Veritas website [link]. If the Bill is passed by Parliament it will make a large number of wide-ranging amendments to the Constitution, many of them minor but…
By Kumbirai Mafunda A Zimbabwean court on Friday 17 January 2020 acquitted Doubt Asima, a freelance journalist, who had been on trial on charges of committing public violence after he was arrested when he tried to rescue an elderly woman, who had been assaulted by some Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers during an anti-government protest…
Following a spate of violent attacks by machete wielding gangs targeting gold producing areas, stakeholders have called on authorities to stop this menace in order to restore peace and tranquility. This emerged at the multi-stakeholder conference organised by the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA) with support from the European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM) held…
By ZESN The Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) notes with concern the proposed changes in the Constitutional Amendment Bill to remove the Presidential Running Mate Clause. The move is retrogressive and an affront to the will of the people as expressed in the referendum on the new Constitution in 2013. ZESN is of the view…
By Veritas Introduction On Monday 13 January 2020 Chief Justice Luke Malaba delivered his speech for the official opening of the 2020 Legal Year in Harare while the Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) Elizabeth Gwaunza was delivering a similar speech in Bulawayo emphasizing on the need for open justice and accountability on the part of judicial…
By Anyway Yotamu The judiciary will this year introduce live streaming of cases to attract public and national interest as well as the integrated electronic management system, Chief Justice Luke Malaba said on Monday 13th of January 2020. In his keynote address to mark the first term of the beginning of the 2020 Legal Year…
The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) is monitoring the social, humanitarian and security situation in Libya with great concern. The Parliament rejects and condemns the suffering of the Libyan people and urges them to agree on an African or Libyan solution to the alarming situation of the country. It has noted the latest escalations of violence in…
By Assignments Correspondent Kadoma Central Constituency Member of the House of Assembly (MP) Hon. Muchineripi Chinyanganya put broad smiles on the authorities and learning Rimuka Primary School in Kadoma after he purchased a consignment of 13 bags of cement towards the construction of parts of the education institution which is still work in progress. The…
By Anyway Yotamu and Joyce Mukucha The Mines and Mining Development Parliamentary Portfolio Committee has urged the government to impose stiffer penalties on machetes gangs known as Mashurugwi as part of efforts to deal with the crimes perpetrated by these gold panning criminals. (Mashurugwi) is the term used to refer to outlaws that have become the…
By Veritas Zimbabwe This Bill was gazetted in a Government Gazette Extraordinary on Tuesday 31st December 2019 [General Notice 2186/2019 signed by the Clerk of Parliament, Mr K.M. Chokuda]. The Bill is available for downloading on the Veritas website [link]. Our analysis of the Bill will follow in due course. When can the Bill be…
By Farai Chirimumimba For President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 2019 has been a year of constant turmoil. On the economic front, he has presided over perpetual failure as he has increasingly relied on his own instincts and underperforming cabinet. In just the last few months, a massive strike by junior doctors has paralysed the health sector. Lawyer…
By Kumbirai Mafunda The Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) and Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) have paid ZWL$7 000 to a victim of assault after he successfully sued them with the assistance of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR). 32 year-old Tomufadzanei Murindagomo sued Owen Ncube, the Minister of State for National Security, Hon. Kazembe Kazembe, the…
By Staff Reporter As a continuation of a long standing practice of assessing performance relating to the strengthening of future electoral processes, the Election Resource Centre (ERC) has launched the 5th Edition of the Election Reform Barometer (ERB) which covers the first year of the 2019 to 2024 election cycle. Speaking at a press conference…
At the occasion of COP25 held in Madrid, Spain on 02 – 13 December 2019, the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) joined by the African Union Commission (AUC), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA), Africa Group of Negotiators (AGN) and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Francophone (APF) convened non-PAP Parliamentarians from across…
By Michael Mashiri A Harare man has dragged his wife to court for being violent and abusing him verbally. Collin Machinya appeared before the Harare Civil Court applying for peace order against Pamela Chitsanga whom he said was violent and abusive. Machinya said the violent nature of his wife began the period he saw things…
By Veritas ZANU-PF’s secretary for administration is reported to have told a party rally that Parliament could extend the Presidential term-limit beyond the current two terms mandated by the Constitution. When the President addressed the rally he confirmed this, though he stopped short of saying he would be willing to serve more than two terms….
Mr Fernando dos Santos, the Director-General of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) joined other luminaries in the Top 50 Most Influential IP Authorities by the Managing Intellectual Property Organisation. The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) has made great strides towards its goal of becoming a paperless office. According to director general Fernando…
By Byron Mutingwende Geographical indications are important for socio-economic development and wealth creation, experts in intellectual property issues have said. Mr Fernando dos Santos, the Director-General of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) made the remarks at the two-day Sub-regional Intellectual Property (IP) Conference on Geographical Indications in Africa, organised by the…
The East African Regional Caucus meeting has concluded in Nairobi following days of consultations between members of Pan-African Parliament (PAP) and civil society organizations from the region. The overarching recommendation from the three-day meeting called upon the PAP to collaborate with civil society organizations to build regional consensus in the promotion of African Union (AU)…
The Pan-African Parliament (PAP) East African Regional Caucus has been urged to heed the call and ratify the Malabo Protocol during the opening ceremony of the consultation meeting currently underway in Nairobi, Kenya. The meeting is being held under the theme: “Building regional consensus on AU legal instruments and promoting the ratification of the protocol to…
By Joyce Mukucha The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) public hearings process on the National Inquiry on Access to Documentation in Zimbabwe for Harare Metropolitan Province roared into life aimed at resolving a human rights problem that is widespread and recurring thereby affecting a significant number of people in Zimbabwe pertaining the issuance of national documents….
A consultative meeting of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) East African Regional Caucus will be held in Nairobi, Kenya, under the theme: Building regional consensus on AU legal instruments and promoting the ratification of the protocol to the constitutive act of the Pan-African parliament: engaging civil society organizations in the promotion of AU legal instruments, from 18 to…
By Byron Mutingwende The conference in Zimbabwe on intellectual property (IP), innovation and value addition for business competitiveness and sustainable development is set to put Africa on course to compete globally in terms of innovation. Officially opening the conference in Harare running from 6 to 8 November 2019 yesterday, Hon Ziyambi Ziyambi, Zimbabwe’s…
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) has engaged stakeholders to map strategies in the process of an inquiry on the access to documentation in Zimbabwe. This emerged at a workshop that was aimed at strategising on a public inquiry that the ZHRC seeks to undertake from the 11th to the 16th of November in Harare….
By Kumbirai Mufunda Zimbabwean authorities have summoned pro-democracy campaigner Lynette Mudehwe to stand trial on Monday 4 November 2019 on charges of criminal nuisance for allegedly participating in an anti-government demonstration held four years ago to protest against former Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko’s lengthy stay in a hotel. Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers recently served Mudehwe,…
By Kumbirai Mafunda Mbare Magistrate Stanford Mambanje on Tuesday 22 October 2019 granted bail to three pro-democracy campaigners who were arrested early in the week and charged with disorderly conduct for allegedly staging a protest outside Harare Magistrates Court. Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers on Monday 21 October 2019 arrested Denford Ngadziore , a Councillor…
The Pan African Parliament (PAP) has honoured and paid tribute to the late former Zimbabwean President, His Excellency Robert Gabriel Mugabe who passed on last month due to “advanced cancer” describing him as a “Giant of Africa”. The PAP paid tribute to Mugabe after a draft motion was moved by Honourable Jaynet Kabila of Democratic…
By Veritas Introduction Several Acts of Parliament contain provisions permitting the President or a Minister to make statutory instruments ‒ regulations, orders and so on ‒ which amend the Acts themselves. For example: The Schedule to the Land Acquisition Act sets out principles which must be followed in assessing compensation to be paid for farms compulsorily…
By Veritas The 10th October is the day on which the United Nations every year urges countries of the world to abolish the death penalty. Zimbabwe has not yet heeded the call, even though no one has been executed here since 2005. Our courts continue to sentence prisoners to death for murder, and these prisoners…
By Kumbirai Mafunda High Court Judge Justice Owen Tagu on Thursday 3 October 2019 reserved judgment on an urgent chamber application filed by Community Water Alliance Trust (CWAT) seeking an order to compel President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his government to urgently act and ensure the provision of water to Harare residents and avert a crisis…
By Joice Mukucha The Election Resource Centre (ERC) has launched an Analysis of the Legal Framework of Elections in Zimbabwe which is meant to govern the country’s elections, advocate for electoral reforms and improve the conduct of future elections. The framework will be periodically used to test what is presented as reforms against the status…
By Kumbirai Mafunda High Court Judge Justice Happias Zhou on Tuesday 24 September 2019 interdicted Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) from preventing Dr Peter Magombeyi, the leader of Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) from leaving Zimbabwe to access medical services in South Africa. ZRP had on Monday 23 September 2019 prevented Dr Magombeyi from travelling to…
By Byron Mutingwende The law and policy framework is very important in improving the lives of people with disabilities (PWDs). Speaking during a breakfast meeting on disability awareness raising, Mr. Abraham Mateta, a disability advocate, said the main challenge that PWDs organisations have been facing was to encourage conversations that excluded policymakers. The…
By Kumbirai Mafunda The High Court will today Monday 16 September 2019 hear an urgent chamber application filed by the family of a missing medical doctor seeking an order compelling Zimbabwean authorities to account for the whereabouts of Dr Peter Magombeyi, after he was abducted by some unknown assailants on Saturday 14 September 2019. Elizabeth…
By Gideon Madzikatidze A High Court judge has dismissed with costs a dispute over land in Harare’s high density suburb of Budiriro 4, which had degenerated into a nasty battle between apostolic sect members and their leader, Madzibaba Enock (Herbert Senda). Herbert Senda, 37, the court said, is the rightful owner of the land. He…
By Abigail Mzimbawakhe (Midlands Correspondent) In a preparatory meeting that was held yesterday at Fairmile Hotel in Gweru, Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) urged citizens to have national documents so that they cannot be denied their basic human rights. ZHRC will be conducting a National Inquiry next week throughout the Midlands Province trying to identify…
By Joyce Mukucha As the year winds down, the Member of the House of Assembly for Norton Constituency Honourable Temba Mliswa expressed his excitement as his constituency substantial developmental initiatives. One of the notable developments in Norton is the resuscitation of Lucas Battery Company which resumed the production after so many years of not operating….
By Abigail Mzimbawakhe (Midlands Correspondent) MDC National Organising Secretary, Honourable Amos Chibaya yesterday donated 50 bags of cement each to Mkoba 3 High School and Takunda Primary School in a bid to build infrastructure needed at the mentioned schools. In an interview with Spiked Online Media, Honourable Chibaya said the cement was purchased under the…
Roger Nkondo Dang, the President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP) has learnt with sadness and great dismay, the reports of acts of violence targeted at foreign African nationals in some parts of our sister country, South Africa. The violence and tension are seemingly spreading into other parts of the Continent, leading into displacement of helpless…
By Kumbirai Mafunda The City of Harare (CoH) has been ordered to pay more than US$3 000 to a motorist as compensation for damage to his vehicle which was battered after it fell into an unmarked ditch, which was left uncovered by the local authority’s employees. With the assistance of Fiona Iliff of Zimbabwe Lawyers…
By Abigail Mzimbawakhe (Midlands Correspondent) Fuming Gweru residents pleaded for the removal of Section 40 of the Marriage Bill at a meeting that was held on the 30th of August at Gweru Civic Centre. A number of Gweru residents urged legislators to remove Section 40 of the Marriage Bill arguing when passed the Bill was…
