Judgment No. CCZ 14/2016110
Const. Application No. CCZ 67/13
national interest. If the ZBC is biased towards ZANU-PF in its programming as alleged by the
applicant, it commits conduct which is in breach of its statutory obligations.
The conduct complained of does not give rise to a constitutional matter at all.
Where a law of general application prohibits conduct, the commission of such conduct does not
give rise to a constitutional question. The question of the legality of the conduct is determined
on the basis of the interpretation and application of the statutory provision prohibiting the
conduct unless the constitutionality of the statutory provision itself is challenged. Bias is a wellknown ground for review of administrative conduct in administrative law. The Administrative
Justice Act [Cap. 10:28] provides effective procedural and substantive remedies for the
protection of the applicant's rights. Under the Administrative Justice Act, an applicant would be
entitled to administrative conduct on the part of the ZBC which gives effect to the right to
unbiased selection and presentation of programmes on news and current affairs as required by
para. (d) of Part 1 of the Seventh Schedule to the Act.
The applicant challenged the con$titutional validity o( ss 38B(2), 38C and
380(1)-(4) of the Act on the ground that the provisions authorize the ZBC to compulsorily
deprive her of property in the form of money paid as a licence fee not for a public purpose but
for the purpose of funding ZANU-PF propaganda "through programmes broadcast on television
and radio.
Section 38B(l) of the Act is the root provision as it imposes the obligation to pay
the tax on every person who is in possession
of~
gadget capable of receiving a broadcasting
Select target paragraph3
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