Residents Sue Parliament Over Centralised Constitutional Hearings

Source: www.cite.org.zw

Residents from Mashonaland East and Masvingo provinces have taken Parliament to court, seeking an urgent order to force the decentralisation of public hearings on the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment Bill (No. 3). In urgent applications filed at the Harare and Masvingo High Courts on the 23rd and 24th of March respectively, the residents argue that the scheduled hearings, set to run from the 30th of March to the 2nd of April, are overly centralised and inaccessible. They are represented by Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), which stated that residents have asked Parliament to decentralise the hearings to avoid disenfranchising people from participating in the crucial consultations.

The core of the legal challenge is that holding hearings only at selected district centres, rather than across wards, places an unfair burden on citizens. The applicants cite venues like Hwedza Centre, which would require people to travel long distances, often on foot or using limited and costly public transport. They argue that Parliament has failed in its constitutional obligation under Section 328(4) to ensure public participation by providing necessary facilities, such as transport for vulnerable and indigent citizens. The residents are asking the court to compel Parliament, represented by Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda and President of the Senate Mabel Chinomona, to conduct hearings in full compliance with these requirements.

The respondents named in the matter are high-ranking officials, including Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi and President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The applicants contend that meaningful public participation is central to safeguarding the Constitution and that citizens must be given a fair and adequate opportunity to contribute to discussions on proposed amendments. They also cite their constitutional right to freedom of expression, insisting they must be afforded a genuine platform to voice their views on matters of national importance.

In their application, the residents are seeking specific relief from the courts. This includes an order directing the authorities to provide transport for the affected communities to enable their participation. Some applicants are also seeking an interdict to prevent the hearings from proceeding under the current, centralised arrangements, which they argue are fundamentally flawed and exclusionary.

This legal action unfolds against a backdrop of other community-level engagements across Zimbabwe. In Pumula, residents recently secured commitments from two local companies to supply rubble for filling abandoned pits that claimed three lives in the past month, with the local Member of Parliament’s office pledging fuel coupons to support the logistics. Meanwhile, in Hwange, Kamativi Mining Company's announcement to exhume and relocate 65 graves within its operational area has caused local outcry.

Separately, the Civil Protection Unit (CPU) in Bulawayo Province provided food and basic supplies to thirty-eight residents in four peri-urban areas of Ward 17 in Pumula, specifically St Peter’s (15 households), Mazwi (5), Robert Sinyoka (10), and Methodist (8). This intervention follows broader government allocations, which saw ZiG300,000 assigned to each province for emergency response, highlighting the ongoing challenges communities face in accessing basic services and having their voices heard in national processes.

Related topics: Constitutional Amendment, Parliament, Public Hearings, High Court, Citizen Participation, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, Decentralisation, Mashonaland East, Masvingo

Read original article →