By Mari Matutu | Few hours after the announcement of the appointment of Frederick Shava as minister of foreign affairs, the social media is awash with comments from every concerned citizen.

There is competition to show that one has memory of all the scandals that Shava has done before.

There is competition to prove that Mnangagwa has appointed one from his village.

I will not compete on that. Why ? Because no matter Mnangagwa picks anyone in Zanu pf he would never find a clean person. 

Here is what our opposition miss. We are the citizens of the country. The power to govern is derived from us.

If our citizenry was aware of their political rights, sometimes we would not be having these thieves in positions in the first place.

Section 104 subsection 3 of Zimbabwe constitution is clear

“ (3) Ministers and Deputy Ministers are appointed from among Senators or Members of the National Assembly, but up to five, chosen for their professional skills and competence, may be appointed from outside Parliament.”

If you are responsible citizen you must first question the press statement that appointed Shava using this section.

The dictates of the constitution is that one has to be a member of the senate or member of National Assembly first before being appointed minister. If you are not among the five who are chosen for their skills, then any appointment to post of minister is unconstitutional.

Instead Mnangagwa has actually appointed Frederick Shava as minister in terms of section 157 (1)(d)

(i)(ii).

Let us not be fools to be cheated by Mnangagwa. We made this constitution by our own effort. Here is the said section.

157 Electoral Law

(1) An Act of Parliament must provide for the conduct of elections and referendums to which this Constitution applies, and in particular for the following matters-

• the periodic delimitation of constituencies and wards in accordance with section 161;
• the registration of voters , and requirements for registration on particular voters’ rolls;
• a code of conduct for political parties, candidates and other persons participating in elections or referendums;
• a system of proportional representation for the election of persons to the seats in the Senate referred to in section 120(1)(a) and the seats reserved for women in the National Assembly referred to in section 124(1)(b), and the procedure for filling vacancies in those seats, which vacancies must be filled by persons—

(i)belonging to the same political parties as those who previously held the seats; and

(ii)of the same gender as the persons Who previously held the seats;

Let us not be blind my fellow citizens. The said section 157 (1) (d)(i)(ii) cannot be used to appoint a minister. The president of the country has no power at all to appoint ministers based on this section. In fact it is a section that seek to put someone into parliament first.

It state of the law that must be put in place to in order to replace Members of parliament and not ministers.

Now the requirement is, he should be a member of Senate first before being appointed as minister. To then appoint him on a speculation of a vacancy in senate from a certain political party and if that party nominates a person to be a member of senate there is no one to object his nomination and ZEC just endorse every action and make it happen is unlawful.

This is the part where vigilant citizens and all pressure group should focus on and utilise to correct. This person shall not just seat in Senate. He has voting rights. We shall have laws changed by his choices in parliament. 

Already the president has challenged the authority of the people. The right to be in Senate is derived from the people of Zimbabwe. 

Zimbabwe electoral Commission is responsible for running the process of filling the vacancies of members of senate. The president is now directing ZEC only to accept the nomination of Frederick Shava as Midlands senate because Mnangagwa want him as minister of Foreign Affairs.

What about the procedure which demands that the said political party nominates its candidate and voters send objections? Does it mean the president is over ruling the people’s right to object before they even submit them?

Section 39 of the electoral Act which is the law referred to by s157 (1)(d)(i)(ii) states clearly the procedure taken for one to be a senate. We the registered voters have the right and duty to object the nomination of any person nominated by the party in terms of section 39 (6)(b) of electoral Act.

Mr president you have violated our constitutional rights on this appointment just by procedure.

Now I present to you the reasons to object the nomination of Frederick Shava as a Senator in order for you to appoint him as Minister.

1. The president by appointing him as minister basing on his nomination and election is manipulation of electoral process and unconstitutional.
2. Section 120 (2) is clear that members of Senate must be elected in accordance with electoral laws of the country. To date we have no electoral law that direct the nomination or election of a senator in order for him to be minister at the directive of president. That is unconstitutional
3. Section 2(1) of constitution is clear. “any law, custom , practice or conduct that is inconsistent with constitution is  invalid to the extend of the inconsistency” . Mr President the whole world must know that the appointment of Mr Shava as minister of foreign affairs is null and void. He has no mandate of the people of Zimbabwe. If it is a custom, practice or culture of Zanu pf that you manipulate the will of your membership, let it be known that this custom has no space in our society. Anyone who get appointed as Minister from house of senate has to first in the senate first before appointment.

1. As electoral law requires that one has to be an ordinary resident of Zimbabwe for 5 years in the previous 20 years in order for you to be elected as Senator, his nomination does not meet this requirement. Plenty of evidence to prove he has not been residing in Zimbabwe for quit a long time. This alone is an electoral process which needs to be challenged by electoral laws without manipulation.

• As a previous convict we also want to know if he has not committed other offences in last 5 years.

To me these are things we the citizend must not just take for granted. If we allow the president to manipulate the parliament to write notices of vacancies in senate then ZEC fiddle with nomination procedures to have an already hand picked person to get into parliament we fail ourselves.

That is why Khupe is in parliament today.

The second part is that section 104(4) of constitution states that

“(4) In appointing Ministers and Deputy Ministers, the President must be guided by considerations of regional and gender balance.”

The current cabinet has to be checked and see how it is composed. Does it meet the standard? If Midlands has more than 5 ministers and deputy ministers already, does this appointment meet the constitutional requirement?

We have right and duty to challenge this. Active citizens would approach constitutional court tomorrow and challenge that. Not because you will get a positive response from the captured courts of Malaba, but you put a dent to the legitimacy of the regime.

As minister of foreign affairs representing an illegitimate government he is better exposed before he assume office.

Imagine a Human rights lawyer approaching court tomorrow challenging Shava’s appointment as minister by merely demanding his or her s67 political right in s67 (1)(a).

Imagine the courts disrespecting this application to challenge Shava’s appointment.

He can go on to force to be a foreign affairs minister but when ever he open his mouth we will remind him he has no mandate of the people. He is a product of a junta