Lawyer in court for using forged conversion certificate

A lawyer has appeared in court, facing allegations of fraudulently obtaining a certificate of conversion for his foreign law degree in order to practice in Zimbabwe, despite having only passed two out of the required eight modules.

Elijah Kudzai Mbiriri, represented by Mr. Progress Maringamoyo, is employed as a legal assistant at Kajokoto and Company. He appeared in court facing fraud charges before regional magistrate Mrs. Marehwanazvo Gofa and has been remanded out of custody until December 14.

In 2017, Mbiriri graduated from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology in Kenya with a Bachelor of Law degree. To practice law in Zimbabwe, graduates with law degrees from foreign universities must write the necessary examinations and obtain a certificate of conversion from the Council for Legal Education. This process allows them to adapt their legal education to Zimbabwe's legal system and specific laws.

In 2018, Mbiriri enrolled with the council to write the required eight conversion examinations. By June 2020, he had passed one module in civil procedure. In June 2021, he registered for four modules in criminal procedure, evidence, statutes, and ethics, but he only passed the ethics module and failed the other three.

Despite having completed only five out of the required eight modules and obtaining only two passes, Mbiriri was allegedly assisted by Huggins Duri, who is currently at large. Duri reportedly provided instructions through email to Fidelity Printers and Refiners to print a certificate of completion for Mbiriri. The certificate was processed, collected by Duri from Fidelity Printers and Refiners, and then given to Mbiriri, who accepted it, knowing that he had only completed five modules and passed two.

This alleged act by Mbiriri caused a financial prejudice of US$420 and affected the reputation and proper administration of the Council for Legal Education.