Man jailed 2 years for impersonating Justice Garwe

A 23-year-old Harare man has been sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty to impersonating Zimbabwe's Deputy Chief Justice, Paddington Garwe, in an attempt to obtain information from the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).

Martin Rashai appeared before Harare magistrate Mr Artwell Sanyatwe, where he admitted to the impersonation charges. The State was represented by prosecutor Ms Dzidzai Josiah.

According to court proceedings, Rashai contacted senior human resources officials at the Judicial Service Commission via WhatsApp on May 5, 2026, falsely claiming to be Deputy Chief Justice Garwe.

The court heard that the JSC's Deputy Head of Human Resources, Mr Sekeni Tafadzwa, and human resources officer Ms Abigail Ziti received messages from a phone number whose user identified himself as the Deputy Chief Justice.

The sender requested information regarding upcoming interviews for information technology officer positions and also sought details about a transport officer vacancy at Kwekwe Magistrates Court.

The requests immediately raised concerns among officials, who found it unusual that a Constitutional Court judge would communicate directly with human resources personnel regarding recruitment matters.

When questioned about his location, the sender allegedly claimed that he was stationed at the Constitutional Court, further reinforcing the deception.

Believing she was communicating with the Deputy Chief Justice, Ms Ziti provided some of the requested information.

However, suspicions deepened when attempts to contact the number by phone proved unsuccessful. A WhatsApp call also went unanswered, with the sender insisting that communication continue through text messages.

The following day, Ms Ziti cross-checked the contact details of Deputy Chief Justice Garwe against official records held by the Judicial Service Commission and discovered that the number used to contact her did not correspond with those on file.

On May 7, she informed Mr Tafadzwa of her findings and discovered that he too had received messages from the same number.

Internal investigations subsequently established that the individual behind the messages was falsely presenting himself as the Deputy Chief Justice.

The matter was escalated to JSC Deputy Secretary Dr Katsande on May 8 before being formally reported to the police.

Investigators launched inquiries and traced the number to Rashai, who had previously submitted a job application to the Judicial Service Commission.

Using information obtained from his employment application, detectives tracked him down and arrested him in Hurungwe.

The case highlights growing concerns over the misuse of digital communication platforms to impersonate public officials and gain access to sensitive information.

Authorities have urged institutions and members of the public to verify identities before sharing confidential information and to report suspicious communications to law enforcement agencies.