By Staff Writer
DEREGISTERED Bulawayo-based lawyer Sindiso Mazibisa says Zimbabwe’s Constitutional Amendment No. 3 is being judged through personalities instead of policy, arguing the real test is whether the sweeping reforms strengthen governance, curb instability, and serve the country beyond current political leaders.
Speaking in a recent interview Mazibisa said proposals to shift presidential elections from a direct public vote to Parliament should be measured on whether they break toxic winner-takes-all politics, reduce election violence and create stronger accountability through easier removal of an incapacitated leader.
He said Zimbabweans should scrutinise the substance of the reforms, not fixate on President Emmerson Mnangagwa or the proposed two-year term extension, pointing to South Africa’s parliamentary model as evidence the system can function in the region.
Sindiso Mazibisa is a former prominent Bulawayo-based lawyer who was deregistered from practising law in Zimbabwe in 2016 following allegations of financial misconduct.
Once a high-flying legal practitioner and senior partner at Cheda and Partners, his career collapsed after the Law Society of Zimbabwe shut down his firm due to the suspected misuse of trust funds exceeding $300,000.
Mazibisa was a key figure at this top-tier law firm, which was established in 1992. The firm was placed under curatorship and eventually closed in 2015 after preliminary investigations by the Law Society revealed questionable transactions.
In October 2016, a legal tribunal ruled that Mazibisa be barred from practising law in the country. The ruling stemmed from cases such as failing to account for $335,000 intended for a gold mine share purchase and embezzling $40,000 from a widow’s inheritance.
