News / National
Lawyer up for academic fraud
03 Jul 2023 at 07:05hrs | Views
A Harare lawyer who allegedly fraudulently acquired a local bridging certificate from the Council of Legal Education, a requirement for those graduating from law schools outside Zimbabwe, appeared in court on Friday.
Grace Kurasha, who is a legal officer with a Government ministry, appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa charged with fraud and defeating the course of justice.
Prosecuting, Mr Pardon Dziva alleged that sometime in 2020, Kurasha graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Lusaka in Zambia.
Upon returning to Zimbabwe, Kurasha enrolled for the Bachelor of Procedural Laws programme with the University of Zimbabwe which is a bridging course for external law graduates so they can convert to Zimbabwean law.
She did not complete the course and then went to the Council for Legal Education to enquire about the process of getting a certificate which is used to register at the High Court of Zimbabwe.
At the Council for Legal Education, she met Shorai Tafadzwa Mupunga who was an employee whom she gave US$1 000 so that she could be assisted to obtain the certificate without writing any examination paper.
Investigations established that Mupunga gave the US$1 000 to Huggins Hardwork Duri, who was the executive secretary of Council for Legal Education, who then processed the certificate for Kurasha.
Duri also appeared in court last week facing 19 counts of fraud in which he fraudulently processed certificates for lawyers.
The certificate was processed without any examination being written and enabled Kurasha to be admitted as a legal practitioner.
On March 23, Kurasha approached the High Court and made an application to be admitted as a legal practitioner.
She submitted the fraudulently obtained documents and was admitted as a legal practitioner entitling her to be registered by the Law Society of Zimbabwe and to practice law.
Grace Kurasha, who is a legal officer with a Government ministry, appeared before Harare magistrate Mrs Marehwanazvo Gofa charged with fraud and defeating the course of justice.
Prosecuting, Mr Pardon Dziva alleged that sometime in 2020, Kurasha graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Lusaka in Zambia.
Upon returning to Zimbabwe, Kurasha enrolled for the Bachelor of Procedural Laws programme with the University of Zimbabwe which is a bridging course for external law graduates so they can convert to Zimbabwean law.
She did not complete the course and then went to the Council for Legal Education to enquire about the process of getting a certificate which is used to register at the High Court of Zimbabwe.
Investigations established that Mupunga gave the US$1 000 to Huggins Hardwork Duri, who was the executive secretary of Council for Legal Education, who then processed the certificate for Kurasha.
Duri also appeared in court last week facing 19 counts of fraud in which he fraudulently processed certificates for lawyers.
The certificate was processed without any examination being written and enabled Kurasha to be admitted as a legal practitioner.
On March 23, Kurasha approached the High Court and made an application to be admitted as a legal practitioner.
She submitted the fraudulently obtained documents and was admitted as a legal practitioner entitling her to be registered by the Law Society of Zimbabwe and to practice law.
Source - The Herald
