NOTICE OF MOTION
QUESTION PROPOSED:
WHEREAS on 24th October 2000 a request will be made to the Speaker by not fewer than 1/3 of the members of Parliament, in terms of Section 29 (3) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe to appoint a Committee of Parliament to investigate whether the President, His Excellency Robert Gabriel Mugabe, should be removed from office;
AND WHEREAS the Speaker is obliged in terms of Section 29 (3) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe to appoint a Committee of Parliament to perform the abovementioned task;
AND WHEREAS no President of the Republic of Zimbabwe has ever been removed from office before and there is no precedent for such a procedure:
AND WHEREAS the standing orders of the Parliament of Zimbabwe are silent regarding the procedures to be adopted in the setting up of such a Committee and how it shall perform its duties;
AND WHEREAS the Constitution of Zimbabwe is also silent as to the procedures to be adopted in setting up such a Committee and how it should perform its task;
NOTING that in the Parliamentary elections held in June 2000 ZANU (PF) obtained 62 seats, MDC 57 seats and ZANU Ndonga 1 seat and further noting that 10 chiefs were elected in terms of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, while another 20 members of Parliament have been appointed by His Excellency the President;
BELIEVING that the Committee appointed by the Speaker should only be comprised of those members of Parliament who are not Presidential appointees and therefore owing their presence in Parliament to the President;
BELIEVING that the proceedings of the Committee should be transparent and therefore should be conducted in public;
CONCERNED that, in the event of the Committee recommending the removal of His Excellency The President, members of Parliament, because of the gravity of the matter, should be entitled to vote in secret;
2./…
2
NOW THEREFORE : this House resolves that:
(d) The Committee appointed by Parliament conduct its work as a matter of urgency and report back to Parliament as soon as possible in the form of a written report which shall be tabled in Parliament and made available to the public;
DATED at HARARE this 24th day of OCTOBER, 2000.
Proposer:
_____________________________________
The Honourable Professor Welshman Ncube MP
_____________________________________
The Honourable Innocent Gonese MP
REQUEST MADE TO THE SPEAKER OF THE PARLIAMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ZIMBABWE IN TERMS OF SECTION 29 (3) OF THE CONSTITUTION OF ZIMBABWE
PREAMBLE
WHEREAS section 29 (3) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe provides that the President of Zimbabwe may be removed from office by Parliament for acting in willful violation of the Constitution or for gross misconduct;
AND WHEREAS the same section further provides that the Speaker of Parliament shall, if so requested by not fewer than one-third of the members of Parliament, appoint a Committee of Parliament to consider the question of the removal of the President from office;
RECOGNISING our solemn duty as elected representatives of the people of Zimbabwe to make laws for the "peace, order and good governance of Zimbabwe" and mindful of the oath we took on assuming the office of members of Parliament to faithfully serve Zimbabwe and observe all its laws;
REALISING and acknowledging the heavy responsibility that weighs on our shoulders to ensure good governance and the respect for fundamental rights and freedoms including the rights of the people as enshrined in the Constitution to life, liberty, freedoms of expression, association and political choice within our multi-party constitutional and political order;
PROUD of our history and legacy of resistance to colonialism, racism, tribalism, dictatorship, oppression, political and economic subjugation;
NOTING the sovereignty of the people over government and their right to rid themselves of a government which tyrannizes, abuses and subjugates;
COGNISANT of our responsibility to ensure the institutionalization of the values of accountability, integrity, transparency, honest administration and respect for the freedoms and rights of the people in our system of government;
DETERMINED to ensure that Zimbabwe is led by a government which is committed both in words and in deed to the rule of law and the future of Zimbabwe as one nation united in the diversity of its peoples and celebrating their equality, integrity and the inviolability of their political and civil rights in prosperity, happiness and dignity and without fear;
CONVINCED of our responsibility and obligation to ensure that the Constitution of Zimbabwe if faithfully observed by all organs of the state;
NOW THEREFORE, we the undersigned members of Parliament, being more than one third of the total membership of Parliament and acting in terms of the said section 29 (3) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, do hereby request that the Speaker of Parliament do appoint a Committee of Parliament with a balanced representation of all political parties represented in Parliament to investigate and report to Parliament, expeditiously and in any event not later than 31s December 2000 on whether or not the President should be removed from office for acting in willful violation of the Constitution of Zimbabwe and/or for gross misconduct in his running of the affairs of the State. The particulars of the violations of the Constitution and gross misconduct more fully appear hereunder.
1. WILLFUL VIOLATION OF THE CONSTITUTION
1.1 During his present tenure of office and more particularly since February 1999, the President has acted in willful violation of the Constitution and more specifically section 31 h (2) of the Constitution which obliges the President to uphold this Constitution and ensure that the provisions of this Constitution and of all other laws in force in Zimbabwe are faithfully executed.
1.3 It is the opinion of we the undersigned, arrived at after careful consideration and after taking into account the interests of the people of Zimbabwe, that the President has, during his present tenure of office, deliberately and in some cases callously encouraged, condoned, incited and supported breaches of the law and in so doing has failed to ensure that all the laws of Zimbabwe are faithfully executed in violation of his Constitutional obligation to do so. The paragraphs that follow detail the acts of willful violation of the Constitution.
(1). See the definition of law in section 113 of the Constitution.
1.4 Mark Chavunduka and Raymond Choto Case
1.4.1 When in January 1999 the High Court of Zimbabwe ruled that journalists Mark Chavunduka and Raymond Choto were illegally detained by members of the Zimbabwe National Army and should be released from illegal detention by the army, the judgment was ignored resulting in Judges of the Supreme Court and High Court writing to the President expressing concern about the violation of the rule of law by Government. Rather than acknowledging the detentions as illegal and taking steps to ensure that in future such illegal detentions would not occur, the President, in a televised address to the nation at 9.00 p.m. on the 6th February 1999 endorsed and supported the unlawful actions of the Army and said, inter alia:
"Any media organization which willfully suspends truth necessarily, in my view, forfeits its right to inform and therefore to claim the protection [of the law] that The Standard is now claiming".
1.4.2 Furthermore the President in the same address made disparaging comments regarding members of the judiciary thus bringing the judiciary into contempt and by so doing failed to ensure the execution and observance of the laws of Zimbabwe. In particular, the actions and words of the President negated Chavunduka and Choto’s rights to the protection of the law as provided in section 18 of the Constitution.
1.5 Failure to uphold judgments against land invasions
1.5.1 In or about April 2000 the Honourable Mr Justice Garwe declared the occupation of farms by war veterans and ZANU (PF) supporters unlawful. This judgment was reaffirmed in a subsequent order by the High Court which ordered that all those people in unlawful occupation of farms throughout Zimbabwe be removed by the Police.
1.6. Advocating and masterminding violence in the Parliamentary Elections of June 2000
1.6.1 On the 16th March 2000 at the official commissioning of the Pungwe to Mutare pipeline the President said in Shona:
"Those who try to cause disunity among our people must watch out because death will befall them".
1.6.2 What the President meant and was understood to mean, was that those who opposed his party Zanu PF would face death as a result of that opposition.
1.6.3 On the 27th March 2000 in an interview with Reuters television the President, referring to farm invasions, stated:
"There have been very few cases of violence, but if the farmers start to be angry and start to be violent, then of course they will get that medicine delivered to them".
He went on to say:
"And it can be very, very, very severe, but we do not want to get there".
1.6.4 On the 18th April 2000 the President incited violence against whites by calling them "enemies of the people of Zimbabwe". He said:
"Until the whites transform positively and really show that they are our allies who are prepared to live side by side with us, we will consider them as enemies".
In saying so the President meant and was understood to mean that white people, as enemies, could be treated as objects of violence.
1.6.5 In an interview conducted by Veronica Edwards of the BBC in the second week of October 2000 the President, when asked about the violence perpetrated against commercial farmers the President stated that:
"We gave them shock treatment".
1.6.6 In stating thus the President confirmed that the violence perpetrated against commercial farmers was part of a deliberate directive emanating from himself and his Government and consequently not only failed to ensure due observance of the laws of Zimbabwe but encouraged and indirectly participated in the denials of the protection of the law and the violations of the right of life of all those farmers killed in the process of giving "them [the farmers] shock treatment".
As a direct result of the President’s encouragement, condonation and encitement the following people were murdered by war veterans and other Zanu PF supporters between the 27th March 2000 and the 28th July 2000.
(ii) ROBERT MUSONI: killed by ZANU-PF supporters in Bindura, 28 March 2000.
(iii) DOREEN MARUFU: 6 months pregnant: died after being assaulted by ZANU-PF after leaving an MDC rally. Mvurwi, 2 April 2000.
(iv) CONST FINASHE CHIKWENYA: Shot dead at Marondera while trying to carry out his duty and arrest war veterans who had assaulted people 4 April 2000.
(v) DAVID STEVENS: Arizona Farm – commercial farmer: shot to death after systematic beating by "war veterans" after Steven’s workers attacked farm invaders. 14 April 2000.
(vii) TALENT MABIKA: burnt to death in same incident as Chiminya. Buhera, 15 April 2000.
(viii) MARTIN OLDS: commercial farmer – shot to death after a long gun battle with 100+ "war veterans" in which police refused to come to his aid. Nyamandlovu, Independence Day : 18 April 2000.
(iv) MR BANDA: murdered in Shamva. 24 April 2000.
(x) PETER KARIDZA: murdered by ZANU-PF supporters. Shamva, 24 April 2000.
(xi) LUCKY KANYURIRA: murdered in Kariba and his mutilated body displayed at a shopping center. 25 April 2000.
(xii) NICHOLAS CHATITAMA alias [BISHOP CHATIMA]: a security guard who died in same attack as Kanyurira, Kariba 25 April 2000.
(xiii) MATTHEW PFEBVE: brother of MDC candidate murdered by being beaten to death at night in his own home in front of relatives. Bindura, 3 May 2000.
(xiv) ALAN DUNN: beaten to death on his commercial farm in Beatrice by people believed to be war veterans. 7 May 2000.
(xv) LABAN CHIRWA: murdered in Rugare. 7 May 2000.
(xvi) JOHN WEEKS: commercial farmer, Beatrice. Shot in his own home by "war veterans". 11 May 2000.
(xvii) SGT ALEX CHISASA: beaten to death with an iron bar, allegedly for criticizing ZANU-PF policies. Chipinge. 13 May 2000.
(xviii) ROGERS MURIRAWANHU: murdered in Karoi, May – exact date unclear.
(ixx) TAKUNDWA CHAPUNZA: killed outside the "surgery" of Dr C H Hunzvi in violence clashes. Torture of MDC supporters is alleged to have been conducted in this surgery. Harare, 16 May 2000.
(xx) MATIONA MASHAYA: United Party supporter, beaten to death by ZANU-PF supporters. Mudzi, 17 May 2000.
(xxi) ONIAS MASHAYA: son of Mationa, beaten to death in same incident. Mudzi, 17 May 2000.
(xxii) MESSIAH KUFANDAEDZA: campaign manager of a ZANU-PF candidate, shot to death by rival ZANU-PF faction. Gwanzura, 26 May 2000.
(xxiv) MR SIMUDANANHU: farm worker killed in Shurugwi on Chess Farm in clashes with invaders. 30 May 2000.
(xxv) ANTONY OATES: shot dead on his farm near Harare. Trelawney, 31 May 2000.
(xxvii) FINOS ZHOU: abducted, and beaten to death by "war veterans" in Mberengwa. Died on 9 June 2000.
(xxviii) SCHOOLTEACHER: unnamed. Beaten to death by war veterans for pulling down Dr C H Hunzvi’s election posters in the school grounds. Chikomba, 10 June 2000.
(xxix) PATRICK NABANYAMA: abducted by unknown assailants from his house in front of witnesses. He was an MDC polling agent, Bulawayo South. He has never returned, and is missing. Presumed dead. Abducted 19 June 2000.
(xxx) ZEKE CHIGAGWA: beaten to death with iron bars by 20 ZANU-PF supporters. Gokwe 22 June 2000.
(xxxi) MANDISHONA MUTYANDA: 60 year old MDC ward chairperson for Kwekwe’s Amavani suburb died of head injuries after being beaten up by 30 suspected ZANU-PF supporters.
(xxxiii) SAMSON MBEWE: farm worker beaten to death by farm invaders while moving irrigation equipment. Ruwa, 9 August 2000.
(xxxiiv) MR NDEBELE: a school teacher from Plumtree who suffered serious beatings before the elections, died in United Bulawayo Hospitals as a result of his injuries. 19 July 2000.
1.6.7 The President’s incitement of violence and death to achieve political ends and which has been acted upon by his supporters, is a very serious willful violation of the Constitution of Zimbabwe as it negates and undermines the multi-party constitutional order which recognizes and indeed enshrines the right of the people to free and unhindered political choice in choosing which political party they wish to lead the nation.
1.7 ALTERNATIVELY, should the above acts not be found to amount to willful violation of the Constitution, it is the submission of the undersigned that they do amount to acts of gross misconduct for which the President should be removed from office.
2. GROSS MISCONDUCT
2.1. The President is, in the considered opinion of the undersigned, also guilty of other acts which whilst not violations of the Constitution of Zimbabwe nonetheless are acts of gross misconduct warranting his removal from office.
2.2 Systematic abuse of the prerogative of mercy
2.2.1 In terms of Section 31 I of the Constitution the President may exercise his prerogative of mercy. Because of the wording of Section 31 I (1) it is clear from the Constitution that the President has a discretion that he can exercise himself. However this discretion is governed by Constitutional conventions which, for example, precludes the President from exercising the power of pardon or prerogative of mercy in favour of his friends and relatives. By Constitutional convention, this power ought to be exercised in those cases which cry out for mercy. To use the power in placing the President’s friends and political allies beyond the reach of the law is an abuse of the power and hence an act of gross misconduct.
2.2.2 The President has a long history of abusing the Presidential prerogative including the following:
b. On 18th April 1998, Clemency Order No 1 of 1988 granted a general amnesty for all political crimes committed during the 1980s up to that date. While this was portrayed as mainly benefiting dissidents, the above statistics make it very clear who benefited most – the 5 Brigade, the CIO and other branches of the State. 122 dissidents sought and were granted amnesty.
e. Following the Willowvale scandal and the subsequent conviction of former Minister and then ZANU (PF) member of Parliament Mr Frederick Shava for perjury, the President granted Mr Shava a pardon in circumstances where his only entitlement to the pardon was that Mr Shava was a close ally of the President within ZANU (PF).
TABLE 1
|
TYPE OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION |
TOTAL NUMBER OF OFFENCES PER VIOLATION |
|
DISAPPEARANCE |
1 |
|
DEATH BY ASSAULT |
28 |
|
DEATH BY STRANGLING |
2 |
|
DEATH BY BURNING |
2 |
|
DEATH BY GUN SHOT |
9 |
|
INJURY –STRANGLING |
2 |
|
INJURY – GUN SHOT |
2 |
|
INJURY – BURNS |
7 |
|
INJURY – BEATINGS |
2,629 |
|
INJURY – SHARP WEAPON |
44 |
|
DETENTION/ABDUCTION |
624 |
|
RAPE |
27 |
|
PROPERTY DESTROYED |
194 |
|
BUILDING DESTROYED |
411 |
|
BUILDING DAMAGED |
336 |
|
PROPERTY STOLEN |
151 |
|
DEATH THREAT |
504 |
|
DISAPPEARANCE THREAT |
45 |
|
ASSAULT THREAT |
2,062 |
|
REMOVAL/DISPLACEMENT |
5,768 |
A local human rights organization has documented the allegations of all the abovementioned crimes and has listed the alleged political affiliations of victims and perpetrators listed below in Table 2.
TABLE 2
POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS OF VICTIMS AND PERPETRATORS
VICTIMS
Unknown: (farm labourers, civilians etc) 56,5 %
MDC: (people at rallies, officials etc) 35,6 %
Other political parties( UP, ZUD, ZAPU, NCA etc) 3,8 %
ZANU-PF (people at rallies, war veterans, etc) 3,5 %
Police 0,6 %
PERPERTRATORS
ZANU-PF (war vets, invaders, officials, Z-PF Youth) 91,8 %
Govt officials (police, army, district registrars etc) 2,6 %
Unknown (farm labourers, civilians etc) 3,7 % MDC 1,9 %
The findings of Amani Trust are supported by the findings of several international organisations and observer teams including Amnesty International, International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Survivors (IRCT), National Democratic Institute (NDI), the Commonwealth Observer Team and the European Union observer team who also documented human rights violations during the pre-election period.
the President’s political allies and supporters. If it were so, it would mean that there is no equality before the law, indeed no rule of law as the political allies of the President would always escape criminal liability through pardons. The fact that the President, as indicated above, actually instigated the violence in the first place makes the exercise of the President’s perogative of mercy an act of gross misconduct. The fact that the Clemency Order does not include those who have murdered and raped is not significant, given the President’s use of individual pardons, as illustrated above, over the years. It is indisputable that no person who has ever murdered on behalf of ZANU (PF) since 1980 has ever served his sentence in jail in Zimbabwe. That there may be MDC supporters who will be beneficiaries of the Amnesty is equally of no consequence.
2.2.5 Accordingly Clemency Order No.1 of 2000 constitutes an act of gross misconduct by the President.
2.3 Deployment of Zimbabwean Troops into the Democratic Republic of the Congo
2.3.1 In or about August 1998 the President deployed members of the Zimbabwe National Army and the Airforce of Zimbabwe into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to information released by the Minister of Finance in August 2000 the deployment of the military by the President has cost the Republic of Zimbabwe at least $10 billion dollars. Independent economic commentators have questioned the voracity of those figures and believe that the cost to Zimbabwe is in fact much greater.
2.3.2 What is indisputable is that the deployment of the military to the DRC by the President has created an enormous burden on the Zimbabwean economy and the deployment is one of the main reasons for Zimbabwe’s current economic collapse. What is increasingly obvious is that the deployment of the military was not primarily motivated by any of Zimbabwe’s perceived international obligations but was motivated by the President’s desire to protect business interests of high ranking ZANU (PF) members.
2.3.3 In the circumstances the deployment of troops to the Congo constitutes an act of gross misconduct meriting the President’s removal from office.
2.4.2 In all the abovementioned scandals relatives of the President have been involved. In none of the abovementioned cases has any investigation or prosecution followed.
2.4.3 Whilst it is not alleged that the President himself was engaged in corruption, his failure to ensure that the members of his family, accused of corrupt acts, were not prosecuted, amount to an act of gross misconduct which merits the President’s removal from office.
3. Conclusion
3.1 In all the circumstances, it is prayed that the Committee established by the Speaker consider the abovementioned allegations and report back to Parliament as a matter of urgency and in any event not later than 31st December 2000.
SIGNED at HARARE this 20th day of OCTOBER, 2000.
__________________________
Sibanda Gibson Jama
MP Nkulumane
Leader of the Opposition
REQUEST IN TERMS OF SECTION 29 (3) OF THE CONSTITUTION SUPPORTED BY:
1. __________________________
Auret Michael Theodore Hayes
MP Harare Central
2. __________________________
Bennet Roy Leslie
MP Chimanimani
3. __________________________
Bhebhe Abedinico
MP Nkayi
4. ___________________________
Biti Laxton Tendai
MP Harare East
5. ___________________________
Chaibva Gabriel
MP Harare South
6. ___________________________
Chebundo Blessing
MP Kwekwe
7. ___________________________
Chirowamhangu Leonard Ringisai
MP Nyanga
8. ___________________________
Coltart David
MP Bulawayo South
9. ____________________________
Gabbuza Joel Gabuza
MP Binga
10. ____________________________
Gasela Renson
MP Gweru Rural
11. ____________________________
Gonese Innocent Tinashe
MP Mutare Central
12. ____________________________
Gwetu Milford
MP Mpopoma
13. ____________________________
Gwisai Munyaradzi
MP Highfield
14. ____________________________
Jongwe Judah Learnmore
MP Kuwadzana
15. _____________________________
Khumalo Nomalanga
MP Umzingwane
16. _____________________________
Khumalo Bafana Jefret
MP Pelandaba
17. _____________________________
Khupe Thokozani
MP Makokoba
18. _____________________________
Madzimure Willias
MP Kambuzuma
19. _____________________________
Madzore Paul
MP Glen View
20. _____________________________
Mafudze Hilda
MP Mhondoro
21. _____________________________
Makuvaza Dunmore Sasi
MP Mbare West
22. _____________________________
Makwembere Stanley Bethel
MP Mkoba
23. _____________________________
Malinga Abedinigo Mate
MP Silobela
24. _____________________________
Mangono Silas Joseph
MP Masvingo Central
25. _____________________________
Masaiti Evelyn
MP Mutasa
26. _____________________________
Mashakada Tapiwa
MP Hatfield
27. ______________________________
Matewu Mathias
MP Chipinge North
28. _____________________________
Mhashu Fidelis
MP Chitungwiza
29. _____________________________
Mdlongwa Esaph
MP Pumula-Luveve
30. _____________________________
Misihairabwi Priscilla-Mushonga
MP Glen Norah
31. _____________________________
Mkhosi Edward Tshotsho Moyo
MP Bulilimamangwe South
32. _____________________________
Moyo Lovemore
MP Matobo
33. _____________________________
Mpala David
MP Lupane
34. _____________________________
Mpariwa Paurina
MP Mufakose
35. _____________________________
Mukahlera Timothy Lancaster
MP Gweru Urban
36. _____________________________
Mukwecheni Sydney
MP Mutare South
37. _____________________________
Munyanyi Tichaona Jefter
MP Mbare East
38. _____________________________
Mupandawana Austin
MP Kadoma Central
39. _____________________________
Musekiwa Tafadzwa
MP Zengeza
40. _____________________________
Mushoriwa Edwin
MP Dzivarasekwa
41. _____________________________
Mutendadzamera Justin
MP Mabvuku
42. ______________________________
Mutongi Amos Munyaradzi
MP Bikita West
43. ______________________________
Mutsekwa Giles
MP Mutare North
44. ______________________________
Ncube Fletcher Dulini
MP Lobengula-Magwegwe
45. ______________________________
Ncube Welshman
MP Bulawayo North-East
46. ______________________________
Ndlovu George Joe
MP Insiza
47. ______________________________
Ndlovu M. Mzila
MP Bulilimamangwe North
48. ______________________________
Nyathi Paul Themba
MP Gwanda North
49. ______________________________
Nyoni Peter
MP Hwange East
50. ______________________________
Sansole Jealous
MP Hwangwe West
51. ______________________________
Shoko Gilbert Mutimutema
MP Budiriro
52. ______________________________
Sibanda Mtoliki
MP Tsholotsho
53. ______________________________
Sikhala Job
MP St Mary’s
54. ______________________________
Stevenson Lottie Getrude Bevier
MP Harare North
55. _______________________________
Thabane Jacob Mabikwa
MP Bubi-Umgusa
56. _______________________________
Tumbare-Mutasa Bennie
MP Seke