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Dr Mangudya

Fidelis Munyoro Chief Court Reporter—
Zimbabwe People First leader Dr Joice Mujuru’s constitutional application seeking to invalidate a Presidential decree that introduced bond notes has been scheduled for February 1. The matter was set for next month after the Constitutional Court granted Dr Mujuru the nod to bring back her case to the court for hearing.

On Wednesday, Dr Mujuru’s lawyers led by Professor Lovemore Madhuku, filed their heads of argument at the Constitutional Court.

Last September, the apex court threw out Dr Mujuru’s request to nullify the executive decree saying the challenge was premature and speculative because the disputed currency was not yet in circulation.

Two months later, in November, Dr Mujuru went back to the Constitutional Court to contest the legality of a Presidential decree providing a legal framework for the introduction of bond notes as legal tender in a fresh case.

She listed President Mugabe, Parliament, Finance and Economic Development Minister Patrick Chinamasa, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor Dr John Mangudya and Attorney-General Advocate Prince Machaya as respondents.

She wants an order declaring that President Mugabe, by exercising Parliament’s primary law-making power through Statutory Instrument 133 of 2016, failed to fulfil his constitutional obligations to obey certain provisions of the Constitution.

She also wants the regulations to be nullified for want of fulfilling the constitutional obligations. It is her contention that President Mugabe has no constitutional authority to make statutory instruments and/or amend Acts of Parliament.

The bond notes, which are backed by a $200 million African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) loan facility, are at par with the US dollar.

Bond notes were introduced in $2 and $5 denominations would follow in March before the gradual rolling out of the $10 and $20 notes. The first phase of the bond notes introduction saw $75 million being released by end of last month.