We have just included all the content from the Model Constitution compiled by the Law Society of Zimbabwe into our indexed online constitution resource.
Visitors to our site are now able to browse through this lengthy document, section by section, easily comparing its clauses on key constitutional issues with the clauses provided by other key documents also included in our resource … (full long text Constitution / see also down of each site: videos, books, news, links).
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About Zimbabwe /Background to the People and History /(All information on this page comes from the CIA World Factbook and the BBC): Primarily of the Bantu group of south and central Africa, the black Zimbabweans are divided into two major language groups, which are subdivided into several ethnic groups.
The Mashona (Shona speakers), who constitute about 75% of the population, have lived in the area the longest and are the majority language group. The Matabele (Sindebele speakers), representing about 20% of the population and centered in the southwest around Bulawayo, arrived in within the last 150 years. An offshoot of the South African Zulu group, they maintained control over the Mashona until the white occupation of Rhodesia in 1890 … //
… Zimbabwe Since Independence:
Prime Minister Mugabe’s policy of reconciliation was generally successful during the country’s first 2 years of independence, as the former political and military opponents began to work together. Although additional blacks were hired to fill new places in the civil service, there was no retribution for those whites who had worked for the Smith regime. Smith and many of his associates held seats in the parliament where they participated freely in debates. Likewise, Joshua Nkomo, Mugabe’s rival as leader of the nationalist forces, was included in the first cabinet along with several other members of PF-ZAPU.
Splits soon developed, however. In 1981, several MPs from Smith’s party left to sit as « independents, » signifying that they did not automatically accept his antigovernment posture. More importantly, government security officials discovered large caches of arms and ammunition on properties owned by ZAPU, and Nkomo and his followers were accused of plotting to overthrow Mugabe’s government. Nkomo and his closest aides were expelled from the cabinet.
As a result of what they perceived as persecution of Nkomo (known as « Father Zimbabwe ») and of his party, PF-ZAPU supporters, some of them deserters from the army, began a loosely organized and ill-defined campaign of dissidence against the government. Centering primarily in Matabeleland, home of the Ndebeles who were PF-ZAPU’s main followers, this dissidence continued through 1987 and involved attacks on government personnel and installations, armed banditry aimed at disrupting security and economic life in the rural areas, and harassment of ZANU-PF members. Occasionally, some demanded the Nkomo and his colleagues be reinstated in the cabinet. More frequently, however, dissidents called for the return of farms and other properties seized from PF-ZAPU.
Because of the unsettled security situation immediately after independence and the continuing anti-government dissidence, the government kept in force a « state of emergency, » which was first declared before UDI. This gave government authorities widespread powers under the « Law and Order Maintenance Act, » including the right to detain persons without charge … (full long, very long text).