'state to defy judgments which are not impartial', says mugabe

The Herald (Harare)

July 27, 2002: The Government will defy court judgments, which are not objective and impartial, President Mugabe said on Thursday night.

He said judges should be objective, impartial and shun personal vendettas against any member of society, otherwise they risked having their judgments defied.

"We will respect judges where the judgments are true judgments.

"We do not expect that judges will use subjectivity in interpreting the law.

"We expect the judges to be objective. We may not understand them in some cases but when a judge sits alone in his house or with his wife and says 'this one is guilty of contempt' that judgment should never be obeyed," Cde Mugabe said.

The President was addressing guests at the traditional reception he hosts for Members of Parliament to mark the opening of a new session of Parliament, at State House.
"I am not saying this because we would want to defy judges. In fact we increased their salaries recently. We want them to be happy.

"But if they are not objective, don't blame us when we defy them," he said.
Cde Mugabe was making reference to the contempt of court case involving the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Cde Patrick Chinamasa.

He said a person being tried must be present, but if they willfully absconded court proceedings, then they should be punished.

"Kwete kuti unocontinue naye. Haiwa tinoti kwete (It must not be a case of vendettas. That is unacceptable). No vengefulness, no revenge. Hatizvide," he said.

Judges should desist from favouritism, racism or discrimination of any form.

"Impartiality and objectivity are qualities that are demanded of all judges."

The President said judges were human beings like everybody else and there was nothing special about them.

"There is no law, which says the judge is superior to any individual. We are all the same but there is a status we give to a person we call a judge, just as we respect MPs and ministers, because he is in that crucial role to interpret the law.

"Of course, judges are human beings. They are not gods who have come from some planet, Venus or Mars.

"They are ordinary people, mortals with ordinary flesh who get drunk if they drink at all. So we expect them to be objective."

In a wide-ranging address on the role of MPs, President Mugabe said lawmakers should be committed to the people who voted them into Parliament.
Legislators were expected to help their constituencies particularly in areas such as health and education.

They should also fulfill election promises or risk being voted out at the next poll.
"Put the people first. Be true to your promises and pledges. Don't think our people are fools. We do not want our people to be deceived. People do not want you to do the impossible but to respond to their needs," Cde Mugabe said.

He said legislators must defend the country's constitution, sovereignty and unity.
The President reiterated that the Government would not embark on another Constitution making process.

Any amendments to the Constitution would have to be made by Parliament since people had rejected proposals in a draft constitution two years ago.

"Some people think a constitution is like a football which can be kicked one way today and another way tomorrow.

"Now they want the very amendments they caused to be rejected and we say no, definitely no. Sorry to those who are cracking their heads about amendments."

Parliament must not make laws that make unnatural things like homosexuality natural as some western countries had done, he said.

"I cannot appreciate that a whole Parliament can decide that Robert Mugabe and Joseph Msika can get married.

"I certainly appreciate that which is natural. I don't think the mission of human beings is to do unnatural things.

"When I said gays are worse than dogs and pigs, I really meant it because pigs don't do unnatural things. Let not our Parliament ever entertain that the unnatural must be made natural."

Parliament had to make laws that enhanced people's lives.

Cde Mugabe described as nonsensical certain tenets of governance like a Parliament with strict separation of powers that some western countries were pushing Africa to adopt.

The idea required that Cabinet ministers should not be MPs and the President said the system was practised in some countries like the United States and France.
But Africa should not just accept such systems because it had its own ways of governance, he said.

However, Cde Mugabe said MPs should scrutinise the work of Cabinet ministers.
He urged lawmakers to be honourable and ensure the legislature had dignity.
He lambasted MDC MPs for boycotting the opening of the Third Session of the Fifth Parliament of Zimbabwe on Tuesday.

"Honourable members must do honourable things. Honour must beget greater honour."

He described the action of the MDC MPs as childish and aimed at pleasing their western masters.

"They gang together to boycott because they also have an international gangster leader somewhere else and because if they are seen to be honouring the President then there will be little room for us to intervene and say the President of Zimbabwe is a dishonourable person.

"MPs must have that entity of independence to do that which is right. Do our MPs have it? Let them undertake an exercise of introspection, I mean all MPs."

Cde Mugabe also deplored MPs who commit such acts as murder and adultery.

"When an honourable member commits a savage act like murder and the whole world gets the news tinonyarira kupi seZimbabwe. We are all disgraced.

"Some people say these things happen. No, things like that do not happen. Must we have MPs described as murderers or assassins? No that is wrong, repulsive and disgusting. We have to condemn that all of us."

The President said people could be angered but must restrain themselves.
He, however, commended MPs for the work they have done in the past two years despite the hiccups they faced.