SW Radio Africa (London)
Alex Bell
16 November 2009
Scores of lawyers gathered in Harare on Monday to protest the increasing intimidation tactics being used by the state against them, as they try to defend various human rights activists in the country.
The group of about 60 lawyers, dressed in their black gowns, braved the pouring rain in the capital to march to the office of Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa. The group had first attended Monday's High Court proceedings, in support of their colleague Mordecai Mahlangu who was arrested two weeks ago on charges of interfering with the course of justice. Mahlangu was arrested after writing a letter to Attorney General Johannes Tomana, saying his client Peter Hitschmann had no evidence to offer in the treason trial against MDC Treasurer General Roy Bennett.
From the High Court the lawyers marched to Chinamasa's offices to hand over a petition, calling for an end to the ongoing harassment of lawyers and rights defenders alike. Lawyers have been routinely harassed by police, often finding themselves facing trumped up charges. Magistrates too have expressed concern about the state's overwhelming interference in the supposedly independent legal system.
For example, Harare magistrate Chioniso Mutongi, has reportedly resigned on the basis of state interference and harassment. The magistrate, who has been presiding over the state's case against top civil rights lawyer, Alec Muchadehama, said she had been 'undermined' after the state refused to carry out sentencing of the state prosecutor that Mutongi had ruled was in contempt of court. The prosecutor, Andrew Kumire, was facing a jail term as a result of the contempt charges, after he was disrespectful to Mutongi during court proceedings.
But Mutongi reportedly said she had endured a "torrid time during which I was entirely abused and harassed at the hands of the State prosecution (authorities)." She added that she felt she "did not get professional protection from this office, as I reasonably anticipated."
Political analyst and lawyer, Alex Magaisa, said the situation "raises questions yet again about the independence of the judiciary and more significantly, about the plight of the officers in the lower echelons of the judiciary."
"The independence of the judiciary must be protected and this goes beyond concerns for judges in the superior courts but to all the men and women who are the foot soldiers of the judicial system," Magaisa said.
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Another example of "One law for ZANU-Poof bootlickers and another law for the rest of Zimbabwe".......... These are FACTS
Exhibit A) A lawyer defending a man against whom charges were dropped was arrested for informing the Attorney General his client did not have evidence to present against another individual...........
Exhibit B) A Magistrate resigns after issuing a Contempt of Court ruling against a State Prosecuter who appealed the ruling against them to a different Magistrate and had it removed.
What "standing" did this "other" Magistrate even have in issuing their ruling? It involved a case that was not on their docket? A ruling may be "appealled" to a higher court, but one should not be allowed to "shop" for a judge to obtain a favorable ruling!
Exhibit C) The Magistrate who issued the Contempt of Court Order was harassed by the same State Prosecution Authorities against which she had issued the Contempt ruling!
How is this possible? How is it that a Magistrate is harassed by State Prosecution authorities who presumably will have to appear before this same Magistrate in the future (presuming she did not resign)? What sort of Prosecuting Authority persists in this sort of behaviour - one that surely knows it will never be held to account for it's conduct before the bench!
"Political analyst and lawyer, Alex Magaisa, said the situation "raises questions yet again about the independence of the judiciary and more significantly, about the plight of the officers in the lower echelons of the judiciary."
"Raises Questions"? It is yet another glaring example that the Judiciary in Zimbabwe is nothing more than ZANU-Poof's lapdog, used to provide a sheen of legality to their otherwise brutal and illegal acts.
Yet ZANU-Poof LOVE to chirp about the "illegality" of the so-called "sanctions"..........
One law for ZANU-Poof bootlickers and another law for the rest of Zimbabwe doe NOT signify the sort of "unity" that the Herald seems to be harping endlessly about within the GNU.
It is 1984 all over again........ The Pigs are in power in Zimbabwe now and issue moral plattitudes about "bringing the nation together" and the Herald urging "Unity", while the Pigs continue to feed at the trough at the expense of the rest of Zimbabwe.
"Total Empowerment!" - sounds more and more like "All Animals are equal, but some Animals are more equal than others" - George Orwell
FYI - "Animal Farm" is available for free via Google Books...................