'War' in the Zimbabwean judiciary

The ongoing feud in the judiciary has its roots in underlying tensions between Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku and Judge President Justice George Chiweshe, both politically connected judges.

Sources in the judiciary said the working relations between the Chief Justice and the Judge President had deteriorated to such an extent that judges quickly found themselves in camps after Chidyausiku lashed out at incompetent judicial officers during the official opening of the 2015 legal year on January 12.

High Court judges coalesced around Chiweshe and through him, wrote a scathing letter to Chidyausiku on January 28 claiming they felt "humiliated, dejected and despondent" by his "inaccurate and damaging analyses, impressions and conclusions".

The memo leaked to the media forcing Chidyausiku to react, first through the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) secretary Rita Makarau, threatening stern measures against underperformers unless they improved.

Then on February 5, Chidyausiku personally responded to the January 28 memo attacking the judges, some of whom he said still have reviews dating as far back as 2008.  

Sources in the judiciary said the feeling among some judges is that Chidyausiku had attacked the Judge President while some members of the bench were also unhappy with the public rebuke.