• The High Court ruled against a presidential directive concerning the Chief Justice
• The court also disagreed with a recent parliamentary vote on retirement age of senior judges
• The Minister says the ruling smacks of judicial overreach

Ziyambi Ziyambi, Zimbabwe's justice minister avers that the country's judiciary is under the influence of foreign forces after a High Court ruled against a move by president Mnangagwa.

The court over the weekend ruled that the president acted contrary to law when he granted the Chief Justice a five-year tenure extension at a time CJ Luke Malaba was due for retirement.

"I want to make it clear that we do not accept the decision of the High Court. We have a serious situation of a judiciary that has been captured by foreign forces in this country.

"This is a typical case of judicial overreach and as government, we are not going to accept that," the Minister said in a statement.

The judges in their ruling also asked that a referendum be held on the extension of retirement age of senior judges challenging a parliamentary vote that change the retirement age from 70 to 75.