The incredible duo Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa (right) and compromised Attoney General Johannes Tomana cooked the humble pie for MugabeArrogant Zimbabwean octogenarian Zimbabwe President has been forced to eat humble pie over the ill-conceived attempt to re-detain 16 MDC and Civil Society activists after one of his compromised Magistrate ruled in favour of their re-detention following their being formally charged over banditry and insurgency allegations against the Junta.
In a move roundly condemned throughout Zimbabwe and throughout the world, 16 detainees who were abducted by Central Intelligence Officers (CIO) between October and December 2008 and held incommunicado for months until they were released between February and March 2009 following consummation of the coalition government, were ordered back into detention by a Harare Magistrate on 5 May 2009.
Overzealous Justice Minister unelected Zanu PF Senator Patrick Chinamasa and Attorney General Johannes Tomana, a self confessed Zanu PF adherent, completely misread the political mood in the country over selective application of laws against MDC supporters when he sought to please the President by invoking a clause in the Criminal Evidence and Procedures Act requiring re-detention of anyone released on bail before being charged when charges are ultimately charged.
The barrage of criticism the aged Zimbabwe President received when news of the detention broke out surprised even the most ardent of his closed circuit supporters and advisors as some of it bordered on withdrawal of recognition of his presidency of the country regionally, continentally and internationally.
Not that Mugabe has ever cared for international reaction to his controversial presidency of the coalition government but the reality that the re-detentions had pulverised his AU and SADC armour made him act swiftly to release the 16 activists.
Chinamasa was summoned pronto to clean up the political mess he and Tomana had caused and duly complied by requesting Tomana to pretend to negotiate with defence attorneys for the immediate re-admission to bail for the 16 activists.
It did not was as the defence lawyers were already aware Tomana had burnt his fingers and was on a mission to redeem his tattered image so they simply went along with him until he conceded that the detainees be released on bail conditions already admitted prior to the re-detentions.
Magistrate Catherine Chimhanda who had a day before decreed that re-detention of the activists was not contestable was forced to humiliate herself by readmitting all the activists to the same bail conditions that prevailed before they were formally indicted for trial set to begin on 4 June 2009.
Talk about there being no political manipulation of the judiciary by the Zimbabwe political executives?
It was evident the re-detentions had broken the spine of the coalition government and moves had been invoked by the MDC-T to stage a dramatic pull out from the shaky government and leave Mugabe and Mutambara to dry with no prospect of them gaining regional, continental and international recognition and support in turning around the country’s waning economic fortunes.
For all his attempts to retain ultimate power in the coalition government the last thing Mugabe wants is a return to the political seclusion he endured between March 2008 and September 15 of the same year while negotiations for the coalition government were in progress.
He will do everything in his power to retain his legitimacy and as long as the MDC plays their cards right by grabbing those powers ascribed to the party by the 15 September agreement, Mugabe will not want to be seen to be abandoning the agreement and or more importantly, spoiling for the collapse of the coalition by SADC and the AU.
This is why it is important for the MDC Ministers to immediately take advantage of the political weakness exposed of the President and his Party by the activist’s re-detention debacle and move swiftly to resolve the outstanding issues Mugabe has been deliberately dithering on.
The illegal appointment of Provincial Governors by Mugabe does not require any further negotiations but proactive action on the part of the MDC by it announcing the names of the Governors it has assigned to the Provinces it won Parliamentary majority representation in March 2008 and instructing them to assume duties forthwith whether Mugabe swears them in or not because that is what was agreed by the negotiating parties.
The unprocedural appointments of Dr Gono as Reserve Bank Governor and Johannes Tomana as Attorney General demands that the MDC controlled Treasury refuses to pay salaries and benefits of these Ghost Senior Public Servants until their employment statuses have been ratified by the coalition government principals as per the 15 September Global political Agreement.
These are the checks and balancing powers the Premier has at his disposal but which the appointed Ministers are reluctant to apply. As long as they act with the Premier’s consent President Mugabe can’t terminate their contracts as Ministers without terminating the coalition government which he is not prepared to do as it will translate into terminating his legitimacy as the President.
The Appointment of Permanent Secretaries and Ambassadors can be equally addressed with the urgency it deserves if all their perks and salaries are formally suspended by the Treasury pending receipt of appropriate reappointment letters agreed upon by the coalition principals.
The same method can be used to ensure inclusivity at all levels of the Civil Service that the GPA applies.
Payment of Salaries and perks for all affected Heads of Government institutions whose appointments have not been ratified in writing by the Principals must be suspended forthwith until such time the incumbents can supply Treasury with proof that their appointments have been approved by the coalition government principals.
The appropriate way to do that is to give all the affected incumbents including Military Commanders written notice of the treasury’s intention to terminate payment of salaries and benefits to the individual concerned until such time Treasury receives written confirmation of their reappointment by the coalition government.
This is how power is exercised to achieve results in the shortest possible time.
Deputy Agriculture Minister Designate Roy Bennett does not need to be sworn in to start performing his duties. His appointment was formalised by the GPA agreement and swearing in if a formality that can be dispensed with if it is being abused to deny him the right to exercise his powers and perform the duties assigned to him by the coalition government and certainly not the President of Zimbabwe.
Nelson Chamisa must simply get hold of the letter by Dr Misheck Sibanda directing heads of Tel One, Zimpost, NetOne and all parastatals under ICT to report to Minister of Transport Nicholas Goche and write them letters advising them that Dr Sibanda is out of order and has no powers to make such directives and anyone who fails to submit operational reports to him as required will face disciplinary procedures for gross insubordination.
He should copy such letters to the GPA principals, the Chairmen of the Public Service and Parastatals Commissions and Dr Sibanda.
If any of the people supposed to report to him fail to comply he must commence the disciplinary action and dispense with their services.
That is how power is gained and not through requests for power and crying foul whenever power positions are threatened.
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