Masvingo High Court judge, Justice Joseph Mafusire, has granted an order compelling President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi to extend the tenure of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) to an effective 10 years as prescribed by the Constitution.
The ruling follows an application by an MDC MP, Consilia Chinanzvavana, who had taken Mnangagwa to the Masvingo High Court, seeking that the NPRC be operational for 10 years.
The ruling means that the NPRC’s lifespan will be extended to January 5, 2028.
In the ruling handed down on March 13, Justice Mafusire said:
It is my conclusion that the reference of 10 years in section 251(1) of the Constitution is in relation to the life of the NPRC after its establishment after the effective date, and not the period within which it must be established.
Unquestionably, it must have been established immediately after, or as soon as practicable, after the effective date in line with section 324 of the Constitution.In the result, except for the prayer of costs, there is nothing wrong or irregular in the nature, form or substance of the relief sought by the applicant.
Accordingly, the following order is hereby granted: The NPRC that is established in terms of section 251 of the Constitution shall have a tenure of life of 10 years deemed to have commenced on January 2018 with the gazzetting as law of the National Peace and Reconciliation Act, Cap 10:3.
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