Zimbabwe judge says military action against Mugabe was legal

HARARE, Zimbabwe -- Zimbabwe's military action leading to Robert Mugabe's resignation was legal, a High Court judge has ruled in a key decision as the military seeks to show its moves were not a coup.

Experts said it sets a dangerous precedent for the military to step in again.

Meanwhile, officials allied with Mugabe were in court Saturday alleging retaliation after the military stepped in.

High Court Judge George Chiweshe, a retired general, on Friday ruled the military's actions "in intervening to stop the takeover" of Mugabe's functions "by those around him are constitutionally permissible and lawful."

The military stepped in almost two weeks ago after Mugabe's firing of deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa amid fears the 93-year-old president's unpopular wife was positioning herself to take power.

The judge said the actions ensured non-elected individuals do not exercise executive functions, an apparent reference to then-first lady Grace Mugabe.

Separately, the judge said Mugabe's firing of Mnangagwa as vice president was illegal. Mnangagwa was sworn in as president Friday in a whirlwind reversal of fortunes, becoming just the second leader of Zimbabwe after Mugabe's 37-year-rule.

The judge's decisions were criticized by legal and rights experts and by close allies of Mugabe and his wife.

"If these breathtaking High Court Orders granted in Harare yesterday represent what is being peddled as a 'new path,' then please pray for Zimbabwe," tweeted minister of higher education Jonathan Moyo, the most vocal of the Mugabes' allies.

The southern Africa director for Human Rights Watch, Dewa Mavhinga, called the rulings "incredible" and said on Twitter: "Strange, captured judiciary?"