HARARE – RETIRED High Court judge November Mtshiya will head a special tribunal that will lead an inquiry into Prosecutor General Ray Goba’s fitness to remain in office, it was announced on Tuesday.

Justice Mtshiya took an oath before Mnangagwa alongside two other members of the tribunal, Advocate Takawira Nzombe and Wendy Mangeya-Mandizira.

The tribunal has four months to conduct interviews and submit its recommendations to Mnangagwa.

Virginia Mabhiza, the Secretary for Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, said an Acting Prosecutor General will be appointed by Friday.

It has been a rough nine months for Goba, whose appointment was reversed by former President Robert Mugabe in October 2017 because he did not meet the fit and proper person test for the job.

But following Mugabe’s ouster in a military coup in November 2017, Goba was hurriedly re-instated by Mnangagwa.

But less than six months after his return, Mnangagwa appears intent on kicking Goba into touch. The reasons provided for the moves to remove him are that he has failed to prosecute high profile corruption cases; travelled without Cabinet authority; used abusive language and abused his office.

The moves against Goba come after Mnangagwa recently announced plans for a new special prosecutions unit to be based in office, which many lawyers said was unconstitutional and a usurpation of the Prosecutor General’s powers.

Said Alex Magaisa, a law expert: “The attempt to appoint an anti-corruption unit in his office made it clear that Mnangagwa had lost confidence in the PG. But undermining the PG and the prosecution authority was not the right thing to do. Constitutional bodies must be protected, including their independence.

“One of the allegations seems to be that Goba was refusing to prosecute so-called high profile corruption cases. It remains to be seen how far true this is now that there’s a tribunal investigating the matter.”

Goba recently caused controversy when he insisted on personally prosecuting Prophetic Healing Deliverance Ministries preacher, Prophet Walter Magaya, for alleged rape – even after the witness submitted an affidavit saying she had made up the allegations and would not turn up in court.

Goba had also sent a circular to all prosecutors, insisting that any attempt to withdraw cases by rape victims must be ignored and cases taken to trial.

Magaya has been lobbying heavily, according to sources in Mnangagwa’s government, to have Goba removed from office. He met Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, Zanu PF politburo member July Moyo and businessman Phillip Chiyangwa at one such lobby meeting and told them his many followers would be disinclined to vote Zanu PF if his prosecution was not stopped.

With his prosecutor Goba gone, it remains to be seen if the new acting PG will take over the case or call off the prosecution.