The High Court of Zimbabwe ruled on Saturday that Chief Justice Luke Malaba’s tenure had come to an end – despite President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s having announced that his appointment had been extended by five years.
The case was brought by the Young Lawyers Association of Zimbabwe and a veteran of the liberation war, Frederick Mutanda.
The government lashed out at the ruling, calling it a case of judicial overreach, and evidence that the judiciary had been captured by ‘foreign forces’. It also accused one of the presiding judges, Happias Zhou, of having worked with the opposition in the past, and stated that it had sought his recusal.
Malaba was widely seen as sympathetic to the government, and the extension of his tenure as a move to bolster Mnangagwa in office.
This followed the passage of constitutional amendments, among which were changes to the provisions relating to the appointment of judges. Critics contended that these were intended to bring the judiciary more firmly under executive control.
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