By Correspondent
The Constitutional Court has dismissed an application by Moreprecision Muzavazi and Pardon Gambakwe seeking direct access to challenge the Constitution of Zimbabwe Amendment No. 3 Act.
The court ruled that the applicants should have approached the High Court first.
The unanimous judgment was delivered by Deputy Chief Justice Paddington Garwe, seating with Justices Ben Hlatshwayo and Bharat Patel.
In their verdict they ruled that the applicants had failed to demonstrate that it was in the interests of justice for the Constitutional Court to hear the matter as a court of first and last instance.
Reasons For Ruling
The applicants had sought leave under Section 167(5) of the Constitution to challenge a resolution adopted at the ZANU PF National People’s Conference in Mutare in October 2025.
It resolved to extend presidential and parliamentary terms from five to seven years.
They argued that the resolution, which gave rise to the CAA3 infringed citizens’ political rights and violated Section 328(7) of the Constitution.
The section prohibits amendments extending term limits from benefiting an incumbent.
They also sought to challenge Constitution Amendment No. 2 of 2021, which removed the running-mate clause and expanded presidential powers in judicial and prosecutorial appointments.
Speaking outside the court, Muzavazi said the bench was hostile and unwilling to allow the applicants to make substantive presentations on the merits of the case.
“We’ve just come out of the Constitutional Court, where we are challenging CAB2 and CAB3.
“The Constitutional Court has dismissed both cases and said that we should have approached the High Court.
“The court was very hostile, they were not willing to even allow us to make a presentation.
“They were adamant that we should have approached the High Court,” he said.
Muzavazi added that approaching the High Court was an exercise in futility and accused the judiciary of acting as an extension of the executive.
He said the dismissal marked a sad day for Zimbabwe and was evidence that the judiciary, like the legislature, was captured.
The dismissal adds to a string of challenges to CAB3 that have been struck off on procedural grounds.
In May, the Constitutional Court dismissed separate applications by six war veterans and by former Binga North MP Prince Dubeko Sibanda.
Both sought to halt CAB3 while it was still before Parliament.
The court ruled that those challenges were premature.
The CAA3 was signed into law by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on July 7, 2026, and published as Act No. 6 of 2026.
Among other changes, the Act extends terms of office for the President and Parliament to seven years
It introduces a parliamentary electoral college for the election of the President and establishes an independent Delimitation Commission.
The Act also creates the office of Judge President of the Supreme Court, and provides for 10 additional senators appointed by the President.
However, it remains the subject of other pending challenges before the Constitutional Court.
These include a case by war veterans led by constitutional lawyer Lovemore Madhuku, who argue that the changes to presidential election procedures required a national referendum under Section 328(7).
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