Human rights lawyers and civil society groups have urged councils and local authorities across Zimbabwe to take legal action against the Zanu PF-led government’s attempts to enforce political indoctrination under the guise of “basic orientation training.”
This call comes after the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works issued a directive mandating all mayors and chairpersons of local authorities to attend a two-day training session at the Chitepo School of Ideology in Harare, a Zanu PF-affiliated institution.
The directive, which has sparked widespread condemnation, was issued on August 16, 2024.
The invitation justified the training as essential for exposing local authorities to the “ideals of national security and patriotism” promoted by the Chitepo School of Ideology. The training was scheduled to take place from August 21 to 23 in Harare.
However, legal experts have strongly condemned the directive, arguing it is both unconstitutional and an infringement on the independence of local authorities.
In an interview with CITE, Dr Vusumuzi Sibanda, a legal practitioner, asserted that mayors and council chairpersons have the right to challenge the legality of such mandates in court before attending the training.
“They can actually go to court and interdict it because it is unlawful,” he said. “The best approach is to preempt it before it starts because the Zimbabwean government is known for having captured the judiciary. So the best way is to preempt it. You cannot tell councillors elected by the people to attend some school. It’s just like telling Members of Parliament that you want them to attend some school of ideology because the government or the president said that.”
He added that neither the president nor the minister has the authority to impose such mandates because councillors are elected officials from different political parties.
The directive has also raised concerns about the Ministry of Local Government’s failure to establish clear governance measures and standards for local authorities. Dr Sibanda questioned how a minister, who has yet to produce an acceptable standard for running councils, could mandate mayors from different political parties to follow an ideology that aligns with the ruling party.
“How is it possible that a minister can call mayors from different political parties when the minister himself is failing to produce an acceptable standard for running councils because there are no governance measures or practices that are accepted as correct?” he asked.
“You cannot tell an opposition party government to come and follow ideologies from a minister who is not from that particular political party. It’s insane, unconstitutional, time-wasting, resource-wasting, and a tendency that has never been practiced anywhere. Political ideologies are different.”
Dr Sibanda said there is a need for a clear distinction between civil servants, political party agents, and elected officials, noting that the government’s attempt to impose a common ideology on local authorities is nonsensical.
“Councillors are not employed by a particular minister or government. They are elected by the people,” he explained. “There is nothing in the law that requires them to attend a school of ideology. The idea that one can have a common school of ideology that must be accepted and attended by everyone else is just very nonsensical. It shows how warped the government policies and Zimbabwean governance are because you cannot force people to do that.”
Dr Sibanda noted that the outcome of this legal challenge could set a significant precedent for the autonomy of local governance in Zimbabwe.
“It could be quite interesting if these councillors can preempt such orders and challenge them so that they ridicule the whole process from the onset,” he said. “If one talks about an ideology, that ideology can only be propagated within a particular political party where they say they want to propagate the ideology. You can’t impose that into government because government is really not supposed to push administrative issues that have to do with work measures, ethics, and standards and then measure them against politics.”
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), acting on behalf of the Chitungwiza Residents Trust, has also stepped in, urging the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works to cease the proposed training.
In a letter sent to the Local Government ministry on Tuesday, ZLHR demanded confirmation of the authenticity of the invitation letter and called for an immediate halt to the training sessions.
“In a letter written by Harrison Nkomo of ZLHR, Chitungwiza Residents Trust demanded that the Ministry of Local Government and the Chitepo School of Ideology cease and desist from conducting the so-called basic orientation training,” ZLHR said in a statement.
ZLHR argued that the training violates several constitutional provisions, including the right to impartial and non-partisan administrative conduct, freedom of assembly, and association. The residents’ association contended that the Ministry’s directive contradicts the spirit of the Constitution and represents a serious violation of constitutional rights.
“The residents’ association said the contents of the invitation letter from the Ministry of Local Government and Public Works to all mayors and chairpersons of local authorities were contrary to the spirit of the Constitution in several respects,” said the human rights lawyers.
