HARARE — President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Friday said he had reassigned Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) chairperson Fungayi Jessie Majome to the Public Service Commission, a move legal experts condemned as unconstitutional and void.
The announcement came just days after the commission issued a damning report on the conduct of the Constitutional of Zimbabwe Amendment (No.3) Bill public hearings by parliament.
A statement dated signed by Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Martin Rushwaya cited Section 202(1)(b) of the constitution as the basis for the reassignment, which takes “immediate effect.”
The dismissal came three days after the ZHRC issued a statement, dated April 7, documenting serious human rights violations during the public hearings held between March 30 and April 4, 2026.
The independent commission, which deployed monitoring teams to hearings across all provinces, found that individuals and groups opposed to the bill were harassed, intimidated, denied audience, and in some instances physically attacked.
It further noted a pattern of controlled participation across most provinces, with youths vetting participants at venue entrances and supervising sign-in registers. In Mashonaland West’s Mhondoro Ngezi, men holding whips were involved in controlling entry.
The ZHRC statement said the conduct violated constitutionally guaranteed rights including freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, personal security, human dignity, and equality and non-discrimination. The commission called on all stakeholders to exercise tolerance, respect divergent views, and uphold constitutional values.
CAB 3, as the bill is also known, proposes to extend Mnangagwa’s second and final presidential term by two years from 2028 to 2030, and would replace the direct popular election of the president with a vote by Members of Parliament.
Mnangagwa’s critics say the bill is designed to manage Zanu PF succession as it also removes automatic assumption of the presidency by one of the vice presidents in the event he dies in office, is removed or becomes incapacitated.
Senior lawyer Advocate Thabani Mpofu said Majome’s reassignment amounted to an unlawful removal from office.
“A member of an independent commission, such as the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, can only be removed from office under section 237(2) of the constitution of Zimbabwe,” Mpofu said. “Section 237(3) expressly provides that the procedure for removing a judge also applies to members of an independent commission; accordingly, a tribunal must be appointed on the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission and the member must be found guilty of misconduct before removal.
“Reassigning Jessie Majome to the Public Service Commission therefore constitutes removal from office and is unconstitutional. Reliance on section 202(1)(b) is unavailing: that provision does not affect the security of tenure enjoyed by Majome, is of no application to the situation at hand, and the attempt effectively seeks to demote her from chairperson of an independent commission to an ordinary commissioner of the PSC.
“We cannot sit idly by while such serious violations occur. The department of justice has failed in its duties, with potentially grave consequences.”
National Constitutional Assembly president and law professor Lovemore Madhuku linked the dismissal directly to Majome’s statement of April 7.
“Jessie Majome turned the ZHRC into a truly independent body and led it in its principled rejection of CAB3,” Madhuku said. “For that, the president has dismissed her. This is unconstitutional and void. We will fight it. It is the continuation of the silencing of every voice against CAB3.”
Lawyer Obey Shava was equally unsparing, stating that Mnangagwa “did not follow due process.”
“This ‘reassignment’ is not based on any constitutional provision. It is ipso jure, illegal, a constitutional abomination!”
Constitutional lawyer Justice Mavedzenge concurred.
“Unfortunately this decision by President Mnangagwa is unconstitutional. He has no such powers… This is just another brazen illegality.”
Majome, a lawyer and former opposition legislator, is also a relative of first lady Auxillia Mnangagwa – family ties which her opposition colleagues were convinced landed her the position in the first place before her independent streak shone through.
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