Lawyers challenge tenure extension of Zimbabwe chief justice

Top judge Luke Malaba was criticised for dismissing petition seeking to annul 2018 election result over alleged rigging.

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has extended the tenure of Chief Justice Luke Malaba by five years following contentious changes to the constitution that are being challenged in court by lawyers. Malaba has faced criticism for dismissing an opposition petition which sought to annul the 2018 presidential election results over alleged rigging in favour of Mnangagwa. He had been due to retire on Saturday when he turns 70, but Mnangagwa’s ruling ZANU-PF party used its majority in parliament to amend the constitution, allowing the president to extend the retirement age of senior judges to 75 years if they proved they were in good health.