Chiefs violating Constitution

ZANU-PF Rushinga Senator Damian Mumvuri has said traditional chiefs need to be schooled in the dictates of the new Constitution as they are violating the supreme law of the land through some of their judgments.
The ruling party lawmaker was speaking in the Senate recently as he posed a question to Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa (pictured), who is also the leader of government business in Parliament.

Mumvuri asked Mnangagwa whether or not it was possible to empower the chiefs through options such as induction courses so that there is a common ground on which they try cases.
“I am saying so because there is evidence that some chiefs do not understand the guiding supreme law of the country, which is the Constitution.

“When they give their judgments, they are in contravention of the supreme law of the land,” Mumvuri said.
In response, Mnangagwa said a workshop could be facilitated where views can be exchanged for purposes of exposing new legislation relating to general laws of the country to the traditional leaders without the assumption that the chiefs were ignorant.

“There are traditions that make him a chief and those traditions cannot be regarded as ignorant customs,” said Mnangagwa.
Contributing to the discourse, president of the chief’s council, Fortune Charumbira, said police were the ones who were ignorant of the law.

“When we look at the Ministry of Home Affairs, we also find that there are some police officers who are ignorant of the laws that exist in this country,” said Charumbira.
“When we talk of customary laws, and when we say traditional chiefs want to enforce a law or arrest somebody; they will send a messenger or a policeman from the Zimbabwe Republic Police to go and make that arrest.
 “However, when some of these police officers are given such a message by the chief’s court they question that message.”

While the Constitution stipulates that chiefs should be non-partisan, traditional leaders are known to support ZANU-PF. This year, they played a pivotal role in President Robert Mugabe’s re-election in the July 31 polls.
They have also courted controversy for issuing judgments that seem to entrench the perception that they are vindictive towards members of the opposition

.
For example, Chief Luscious Chitsinde Negomo of Mashonaland Central gave former Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai a torrid time during the days of the inclusive government  following his short-lived marriage to Locardia Karimatsenga-Tembo.

Negomo made news headlines when he attempted to haul Tsvangirai to his court on allegations that he had married in the month of November, which is deemed to be sacred by the Shona people.
Tsvangirai denied that he had married Karimatsenga-Tembo.