Zimbabwe: Mnangagwa Dragged to Court Over Majome’s Removal From ZHRC
Health community newsA rights activist has approached the Constitutional Court seeking to overturn President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s decision to reassign Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) chairperson Jessie Majome, arguing the move was unconstitutional.
In an urgent application filed on April 21, 2026, Allan Chipoyi contends that the President “failed to fulfil his constitutional obligation” by bypassing mandatory procedures governing the removal of members of independent commissions.
Chipoyi argues that the April 10 directive reassigning Majome to the Public Service Commission was not an administrative transfer but “in substance and effect, a removal from office as Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission.”
“The Constitution does not permit the executive to circumvent its safeguards by relabelling a removal as a ‘reassignment’,” he states in his founding affidavit, adding that such conduct “amounts to an impermissible circumvention of constitutionally entrenched safeguards.”
Majome, who was appointed ZHRC chairperson on March 20, 2024, was abruptly redeployed days after the commission publicly criticised the conduct of public hearings on the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment (No. 3) Bill.
The bill seeks to extend the term of the President and Parliamentarians from five to seven years.
Chipoyi says the commission had raised concerns about “the flawed and exclusionary nature” of the process, including allegations of “harassment and intimidation of dissenting voices” and “a pattern of controlled participation.”
He argues there is a “direct, undeniable nexus” between Majome’s stance and her removal, describing the reassignment as “a punitive, retaliatory measure designed to purge a dissenting constitutional voice from an independent commission.”
The application stresses that no tribunal was appointed to investigate or recommend Majome’s removal, as required by the Constitution. “The Respondent did not appoint such a tribunal, nor was any recommendation made to him,” Chipoyi states.
He further argues that the President is bound by constitutional provisions requiring that any removal of a commissioner must follow a strict process. “Such removal may only be effected… pursuant to the recommendations of a duly constituted tribunal,” he says.
Chipoyi also accuses the President of breaching his broader constitutional duties. “By failing to comply with the prescribed procedure… the Respondent failed to fulfil his constitutional obligation to obey, uphold and respect the Constitution,” reads the application.
He warns that allowing the move to stand would undermine the independence of constitutional bodies. “If this action is permitted to stand, it renders the concept of independent commissions entirely illusory,” he argues.
Chipoyi is seeking a declaratory order setting aside the reassignment and compelling Majome’s immediate reinstatement as ZHRC chairperson. He also wants the court to bar any further interference with the commission’s operations except through constitutionally prescribed procedures.
The Constitutional Court has been asked to determine whether Mnangagwa’s actions violated sections 237, 187 and 90 of the Constitution, which safeguard the independence and tenure of members of Chapter 12 institutions.
The hearing is pending.
By New Zimbabwe.
