The New Zimbabwe Constitution Making Process: Viewpoints from Makokoba

There has been so much hype over the new constitution making process among the academia, politicians and private spheres. As much as the issue is blowing hot among the aforementioned groups, it’s blowing stone cold among the ordinary citizens. Over the past week, through deliberations with amagents enkomponi I gathered that the majority are not aware of this process, its significance and how they should participate. I also feel it is important for every Zimbabwean to know the conditions that have led to the need to write a new constitution, this is the surest way of, first, enthusing interest among citizens and secondly, ensure that people think critically about their submissions.
In my deliberations with colleagues and interaction with various literature and texts, including newspapers I have gathered that there are two sides to the constitution making process; that is ZANU (PF) and the two factions of the MDC on one side and civil society on the other.
ZANU (PF) and the two factions of the MDC argue that the basis for constitution making should and must rest on the Kariba Draft Constitution. However, civil society on the other hand argues that the constitution making process must be taken to the people. Civil society in its submissions says that the Kariba Draft was a ‘political document’ which mainly espouses the interests of the main political protagonists and antagonists in the Zimbabwe political impasse. This argument, as much as it may hold water I find it confusing to say the least. In my understanding of the concept of constitutionalism in letter, constitutions’ are political documents. A constitution as the supreme land of the law deals with power; against such a background it will not be far fetched for one to suggest that, indeed constitutions are political documents. After all, politics in its simple definition: is struggle for power. Isn’t it so?
Again, I wish to add on and say that the process of making a constitution is not a simple job which can be delegated to anyone. For, Gods sake we are talking about a national constitution. To support my view, as earlier on alluded to, most common and ordinary people are not worried about the constitution making because they are not conversant with the subtle nuances at play in this instance, and they view it as a political tool used by politicians to continue with their excesses. After all this view is correct considering the number of times, the current constitution has been amended by the ZANU (PF) government in order to address various key political issues and questions. It will be naïve to suggest that the constitution making process should be limited to the elite, as it is equally illogical to delegate the same duty to the common man on the street. On this one I stand in support of the three political parties who make up the coalition government, that the Kariba Draft be the working draft in the constitution making process.
The coalition government should now proceed and ensure that resources are availed in order to allow all citizens of Zimbabwe who care to access the Kariba draft and critique it.
From the community were I hail from (born and bred) Makokoba/Mzilikazi there are also key issues that need to be addressed that are peculiar to this community. My community has a sizeable number of migrant residents from Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique and descendents. Issues of concern have come up over the years in terms of migrant communities’ citizenship status. In 2003, most Zimbabweans born outside Zimbabwe (with legitimate claims to citizenship through registration) and those with either or both of their parents born out of Zimbabwe were stripped of their citizenship, in a bid by the government to outlaw dual citizenship. Although their citizenship status was restored under constitutional amendment number 19, as we craft a new constitution we need to play and debate around the issue of dual citizenship. Should dual citizenship be legal under the new constitution? Currently it is illegal for one to hold dual citizenship under the country’s laws.