STERNFORD Moyo, the president of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, on Friday urged Christians in the legal profession to seek divine intervention for the restoration of sanity in the country's judicial system.

He was speaking at the launch of the Harare branch of the Christian Legal Society.

"The launch comes when our country is facing enormous challenges," Moyo told judges, magistrates, lawyers and church leaders at the launch ceremony.

"We continue to witness the breach of the rule of law. The law has been used to subvert the law itself, sometimes to subvert the truth.

"You need wisdom, integrity and courage to deal with the challenges facing our country today. This can only come through divine inspiration."

The first Christian legal community in the country was formed by lawyers led by Daniel Molokela in Bulawayo last year. The society seeks, among other things, to integrate Christian values into the country's legal system, promote the Christian concept of social justice and to offer legal services to the poor and give consideration to the legal needs of churches.

Harare author and lawyer Davison Kanokanga was elected the society's chairman; Tapfumanei Nyamwanza of Coghlan, Welsh and Guest, secretary; Joyce Temu of Chinyoka and Gunje, treasurer; Revai Chisweto, a University of Zimbabwe law student, was chosen as the students' representative.

Bishop Tudor Bismark, of the New Life Covenant Church, called on legal practitioners to speak for the downtrodden, citing Psalms 31 which calls on believers to "open your mouth for the mute".

Kanokanga urged business leaders to take a firm stand in the fight against lawlessness.

"Where there is no rule of law, the law of the jungle will take over and business will flee," he said.

"If you are interested in your business, then you should join our cause to transform our legal system."

The first Christian Legal Society was formed by a group of American attorneys working in Washington, DC in 1959.