THE Constitutional Court (Concourt) has finally invalidated Section 31 (a) (iii) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act) which the law enforcement agents had periodically used to criminalise publication or communication of statements deemed as prejudicial to the State.
CHARLES LAITON
The order was issued yesterday by Deputy Chief Justice Luke Malaba in concurrence with the rest of the ConCourt bench after Justice minister, Emerson Mnangagwa failed to challenge the invalidation of the draconian law that had caused the prosecution of several journalists on charges of publishing statements deemed prejudicial to the State.
Justice Malaba said: “On January 15, 2014 Chris Mutangadura, who represented the minister, indicated that it was no longer the intention of the minister to oppose the confirmation of the rule nisi. There was, therefore, no need of hearing the applicants on the question of the confirmation of the rule nisi.
This order of the court was reserved to allow the court time to prepare this opinion, to give guidance on what is expected of a minister who is called upon by the court to show cause why an enactment, the constitutional validity of which is challenged, should not be declared to be in contravention of the fundamental human right of freedom.”
“The order of the court is as follows: it is ordered that s 31 (a) (iii) of the Criminal Law (codification and Reform) Act was in contravention of Section 20 (1) of the former constitution. The respondent [Attorney General] is to pay costs of the main application as well as the cost relating to the confirmation of the rule nisi.”
The ruling follows an application by former NewsDay editor, Constantine Chimakure, AMH group-editor-in-chief Vincent Kahiya, Zimbabwe Independent publishers and sculpture Owen Maseko who had challenged the existence and application of the law.
The applicants had been charged with contravening the law which carried a 20-year jail term.
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The ConCourt bench last November delivered a landmark ruling and called for the invalidation of the law on the basis that it contravened section 20 (1) of the Constitution. The court then called Mnangagwa to appear before it “to show cause” why the section of the code should not be invalidated.
