Bulawayo magistrate under investigation for corruption

BULAWAYO Judiciary Services officials are under probe for suspected corruption after a resident, Winston Mawere, wrote a letter to President Robert Mugabe alleging some members handled court cases in a suspicious manner.

This resulted in the chief secretary to the President and Cabinet Misheck Sibanda directing the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) to investigate the allegations.

Mawere runs Prospect Consultancy, an organisation that equips people living with disabilities with technical skills, and the complaint that he filed against a magistrate who allegedly stayed on an execution of his claim against a city businessman Makhosi Nkomo, who alleged owed him $3 500.

In his complaint addressed to Mugabe, Mawere said when the magistrate made the ruling, he argued that he had served Nkomo with the opposition papers, but the magistrate went on to stay the execution in favour of Nkomo.

He said the magistrate instead referred him to the clerk of court saying the opposition papers were not in the court records.

Mawere accused the magistrate and the clerk of court of removing his papers from the record so as to give a defective ruling in favour of Nkomo.

Mawere said he did a review of the proceeding report, which he submitted to the provincial magistrate on August 30 and was awaiting a response.