CHIEF Justice Luke Malaba will not sit on the seven-member Constitutional Court (ConCourt) bench set to hear a high-stakes case challenging proposed constitutional amendments that could extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s rule to 2030.
Malaba officially steps down on May 14, ahead of the May 20 hearing scheduled at the ConCourt.
The case was brought by a group of war veterans — Reuben Zulu, Godfrey Gurira, Shoorai Nyamangodo, Joseph Chinyangare, Digmore Digmore, Knowledge Ndiya and Joseph Chinguwa — who are seeking to nullify Constitutional Amendment No 3 Bill.
Mnangagwa, cited as the first respondent, did not file a notice of opposition in the matter.
However, Attorney-General Virginia Mabhiza, who is cited as the second respondent, filed opposing papers on her own behalf and on behalf of the President, arguing that the case is centred on statutory interpretation with no foreseeable disputes of fact.
But the war veterans challenged Mabhiza's move to respond on behalf of Mnangagwa.
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In her affidavit, Mabhiza argued that the war veterans’ application is speculative, as Constitutional Amendment No 3 Bill has not yet been enacted into law.
In response, lead applicant Reuben Zulu dismissed the objections, insisting that the matter is not premature.
He argued that the challenge targets the President’s current conduct rather than a future law.
“The complaint is that the first respondent has already failed to defend the Constitution by presiding over and being party to the Executive advancement of the impugned scheme,” Zulu submitted.
“That constitutional failure, as established in the founding papers, was complete the moment the first respondent employed the authority of his office and the machinery of Cabinet in aid of a scheme which, we contend, stands against the express anti-self-extension command contained in section 328(7) of the Constitution and offends section 88(1) in a most fundamental respect, by deploying Executive authority away from the people as stipulated by the Constitution.”