The judge, therefore, held that the failure to follow these procedures rendered the notice invalid. In the interim relief it granted, the court declared the police banning order invalid but the declaration of invalidity would be suspended for seven days to allow the authority to correct these defects. At the end of the seven days the authorities must then process notifications of intended demonstrations and the Commissioner of Police and Minister of Home Affairs will be interdicted from unlawfully interfering with citizens’ rights to mount peaceful demonstration in terms of section 59 of the Constitution read with section 12 of the Public Order and Security Act. This judgment was hailed by those who believed that it upheld the constitutional right to protest but utterly condemned by those who believed that protestors were bent on violently seeking to bring about “regime change.” A further challenge to the banning order Another case was brought on the police banning order. This was the case of Zimbabwe Divine Destiny v Newbert Saunyama N.O. & Ors HH-589-16 the applicant was an ecclesiastical church that had never been involved in any violence nor had it ever partaken in political activism. On the 13 September 2016, the first respondent published a ‘Notice of Proposed Prohibition Order’ in the Herald. The notice was also published in the Government Gazette under Extraordinary General Notice No. 239A of 2016 (hereinafter referred to as “the Prohibition Order”). By way of this notice, the police officer commanding Harare indicated his intention to institute a blanket prohibition in respect of all public demonstrations and processions in the Harare Central Policing District for the period 16 September 2016 to 15 October 2016. The notice did not state the purpose or reasons behind the prohibition. It further did not indicate that persons affected by the prohibition were entitled to make representations. Particularly, it did not state where and to whom any objections or representations could be lodged. Also on 15 September 2016, the applicant wrote to the police officer commanding Harare, out of an abundance of caution, to notify him that its churches planned to carry out a march on the 23rd September 2016 between 10 am and 12 pm. The march was to start at Karigamombe Centre, along Sam Nujoma St proceeding onto Nelson Mandela St and ending at Parliament. The church highlighted that it was exempt from the provisions of the Public Order and Security Act [Chapter 11:17]. On 15 September 2016, the Church further wrote to the police in an effort to make representations in respect of the Prohibition Order. The applicant raised, among other things, the unconstitutionality of the notice. The police officer did not furnish the Church with any opportunity to be heard following the ‘Notice of Proposed Prohibition Order’. It did not respond to the Church’s letter. The Police did not invite the applicant to a consultative meeting nor did it indicate that there existed any threat to public order. The police did not afford the Church an opportunity to explore options to avert any perceived threat. On 16 September 2016, the first respondent gazetted a further ban on demonstrations in terms of section 26 of the Public Order and Security Act. Consolidation of cases before Chiweshe JP The Judge President dealt with the DARE case and the Divine Destiny cases together.