158 | Zimbabwe Rule of Law Journal The general constitutional principles which influenced the court’s decision had to do with transparency, accountability and the ethical conduct of the executive branch of government. The courts’ opening judgment noted that “... One of the crucial elements of our constitutional vision is to make a decisive break from the unchecked abuse of State power and resources that was virtually institutionalised during the apartheid era. To achieve this goal, we adopted accountability, the rule of law and the supremacy of the constitution as values of our constitutional democracy. For this reason, public office-bearers ignore their constitutional obligations at their peril. This is so because constitutionalism, accountability and the rule of law constitute the sharp and mighty sword that stands ready to chop the ugly head of impunity off its stiffened neck”.4 Another key issue expounded in the Nkandla judgment was the role of independent institutions and, in this case, the office of the Public Protector.5 The Nkandla judgment effectively reinforced the constitutional powers of the public protector to investigate any conduct in State affairs and public administration in any sphere of government and to provide remedial action had been undermined by the subsequent actions of both the National Assembly and the President of South Africa after receiving the recommendations of the public protector. The effect of the Nkandla judgment has great constitutional and institutional significance locally as it provides an opportunity to interrogate constitutional democracy especially in respect of accountability and transparency mechanisms provided by the Constitution of Zimbabwe as well as national legislation and institutional frameworks. It provides an opportunity to question the extent to which institutions, meant to be independent, risk or have been compromised due to the political landscape in Zimbabwe. It further provides an opportunity to assess the extent to which the unchecked abuse of State power and resources has been institutionalised in Zimbabwe thus undermining an already fragile constitutional democracy. 4 Paragraph 1 of the judgment 5