You overlooked us, MPs tell Speaker

Source: You overlooked us, MPs tell Speaker – DailyNews Live

Farayi Machamire  11 August 2017

HARARE – Female National Assembly members have accused Speaker Jacob
Mudenda of “overlooking” them during heated debate on the Constitution of
Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 1) Bill which, if signed by President Robert
Mugabe, would restore powers to him to appoint the chief justice and
judges.

Already the National Assembly has passed the controversial Bill.

In an open letter, MDC women legislators Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga,
Nomathemba Ndlovu, Jasmine Toffa and Jessie Majome said Mudenda
consistently overlooked women at the expense of Zanu PF and MDC male
legislators during debate on the Bill in the National Assembly.

Mudenda could not be reached for comment yesterday and did not respond to
questions sent to him.

“We, the undersigned Members of Parliament, wish to express to you our
utter disappointment with the manner in which you exercised your
discretion as chair in preventing women members from speaking during the
debate on Constitution Amendment No. 1 Bill on Tuesday July 25, 2015. We
noted that you ruled that you would not entertain any points of order in
refusing to recognise first . . . Misihairabwi-Mushonga, then . . . Majome
but you proceeded to recognise (MDC vice president) Nelson Chamisa, who is
a man.

“You maintained that position even when you were approached by the two
honourable members at your chair, insisting that you knew in advance what
they intended to say which amounts to prejudice,” the MPs wrote in their
joint letter to Mudenda.

“You proceeded to refuse to recognise . . . Toffa and . . . Ndlovu but
proceeded to repeatedly recognise Chamisa, Temba Mliswa (Independent MP)
and (MDC MP) Innocent Gonese, who are all men.

“Even the Hansard of July 25, 2017 (Vol. 43 No. 78) invisibilised and
anonymised women MPs as it totally left out honourable members
Misihairabwi-Mushonga, Ndlovu and Majome’s sustained point of order
interjections, only honourable Toffa is recorded as having raised a point
of order,” they further complained.

They added that they were not happy “at being discriminated against on the
basis of our gender, being equally members of Parliament who must also
enjoy the right to hold office as guaranteed by Section 67 of the
Constitution as read with Section 56”.

“Women also have views that are valuable to it and should not be dismissed
as predictable. As women MPs, we find it unfair to be deprived of audience
in Parliament yet are often subjected to public criticism for allegedly
not speaking in Parliament,” the quartet added.

The draft Bill has been sent to Mugabe for his assent and signature.

Once assented to and signed by Mugabe, the Bill will have to be published
in the Government Gazette as an Act of Parliament. Only then will it
become law.

In the new law, Mugabe would be given powers to appoint the chief justice,
deputy chief justice and judge president of the High Court of his choice
whenever there are vacancies for such posts.

The amended section in the new Constitution had taken away those powers by
opening up the selection process to the public by empowering the Judicial
Service Commission to hold public interviews where it would then draw up a
shortlist to be presented to Mugabe for appointment, based on merit.