Is Justice Chinamora's comeback a bad omen for Zimbabwean justice?

In Zimbabwe, we have become accustomed to those embroiled in controversy and transgression in their professional conduct being somehow rewarded by the ruling establishment.

However, the choice of disgraced former judge Justice Webster Nicholas Chinamora as the chairman of the newly established ZICC (Zimbabwe Independent Complaints Commission) left me dumbfounded and bewildered.

I can not, for the life of me, fathom why President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa would accept, appoint, and swear in the same man he, only a year ago, set up a Tribunal to investigate his suitability to hold the esteemed office of a judge of the High Court.

The JSC (Judicial Service Commission) had produced a damning dossier alleging a litany of transgressions against Chinamora, committed in the course of his duties.  

The JSC -  whose mandate is to promote and protect the independence of the judiciary - alleged that Chinamora could have engaged in gross misconduct, interfered in the course of justice, and presided over matters in which he had conflict of interest.

One of the most notable cases Chinamora presided over occurred in September 2023 involving Zimbabwe's first post-colonial education minister, Dr. Dzingai Mutumbuka.

The former minister lost his US$600,000 upmarket house that had been stolen through title deed fraud.

Two individuals, Prosper Biziweck and Tatenda "Shaft" Wakatama, produced fake documents and sold Mutumbuka's house (for a paltry US$45,000), whilst working in conjunction with accomplices and officials from the Deeds Registry offices.

Nevertheless, in a ruling that shocked everyone, Chinamora ruled in favor of the fraudster and granted an order for Mutumbuka to vacate his own property.

Fortunately, Mutumbuka acted swiftly and appealed to the Supreme Court for the rescission of Chinamora's judgment.

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In October 2023, Chinamora was accused of handing down a judgement in a case he never heard in a matter involving a company called Balwearie Holdings (Pvt) Limited.

The company's Managing Director, Believe Guta, complained, "This is not the first time for the judge to unlawfully deliver judgement on matters and then claim that it is an error.

"He did the same in May 2022 when he ordered an unconditional release of a suspect, Amos Chimbiru who had been sentenced to 10 years for contravening section 60A of the Electricity Act (Chapter 13:19)."

The company said it had also gathered information that Chinamora allegedly connived with a certain legal practitioner to defeat the course of justice by favoring one of the parties in that matter.

In February 2023, a complaint against Chinamora was lodged for alleged conflict of interest in a legal dispute between Zimbabwe's Delta Beverages (Pvt) Ltd, Schweppes Zimbabwe Ltd, and Blakey Plastics (Pty) Ltd.

However, on 11th November 2023, before the Tribunal - chaired by retired Supreme Court judge Justice Ahmed Moosa Ebrahim -  could do its job, Chinamora dropped a bombshell by submitting his resignation from the bench.

That move effectively killed the investigation.

Clearly, he did not want to wait to be investigated or his activities laid bare in the public domain and possibly forced to vacate his office in disgrace.

We can only speculate as to why, if he had been wrongly accused of the charges leveled against him, he did not choose to fight and prove his innocence.

Surely, is that not what his entire profession - as a legal practitioner and then judicial officer - had been all about… to determine the innocence or guilt of an accused person?

Be that as it may, after his resignation, one would have expected Chinamora to stay out of the public eye.

That was, however, not to be the case.

He applied for the chairmanship position of the ZICC - which was established under section 210 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

This provides for the setting up of an independent and impartial mechanism for the investigation of misconduct committed by members of the security services, and also ensures independent oversight of the handling of complaints.

ZICC  will be mandated to investigate any complaints made by any person or on his or her behalf against any misconduct on the part of a member of a security service in the discharge or purported discharge of the member's duties.

Furthermore, the Commission will investigate any contraventions of or practices that do not comply with sections 206(2) and (3) and 208 of the Constitution.

These are very serious responsibilities.

For instance, the ZICC can investigate the July 2024 utterances by ZNA (Zimbabwe National Army) Commander, General Anselem Sanyatwe, to gathering of villagers in Nyanga, that ZANU PF would rule the country ‘till donkeys grow horns'.

He also warned that the military would enforce what he termed 'command voting' to coerce people to vote for the ruling party.

These reckless and potentially dangerous statements were in clear violation of section 208(2) of the Constitution - which forbids members of the security services to act in a partisan manner; further the interests of any political party or cause; prejudice the lawful interests of any political party; or violate the fundamental rights or freedoms of any person.

Nevertheless, can a former judge - who resigned from the bench in disgrace whilst under investigation on serious allegations - be genuinely trusted with handling such a case?

Can Chinamora surely be trusted with independently and impartially investigating matters of such a grave magnitude?

Can his rulings be trusted?

Let me ask a final question.

Why would Mnangagwa appoint someone as tainted as Chinamora in the first place?

For a possible hypothesis, we need to go back to when these accusations against the former High Court judge were made.

Instead of executing the recommendations by the JSC, going as far back as March 2023, that Chinamora be investigated by a tribunal, the authorities, however, dilly-dallied.

It was only after prominent lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa had written an open letter to Mnangagwa - threatening to take him to court for failing to uphold his oath of office - did the president finally act.

Why all this hesitancy to act on the JSC recommendations of gross transgressions and misconduct against Chinamora?

Why did Mnangagwa only do something after the threat by Mtetwa?

Then, why did Chinamora resign before the Tribunal could even commence its work?

Was this all part of a well-orchestrated plan - possibly involving high-ranking officials - to save the judge from a tainted record?

Was there someone high up the echelons of power who was so eager to preserve Chinamora's reputation and career?

Is that why, today, in spite of all the damning accusations, we find the former judge at the helm of a very important commission established in terms of the Constitution?

© Tendai Ruben Mbofana is a social justice advocate and writer. Please feel free to WhatsApp or Call: +26371566700 | +263782283975, or email: mbofana.tendairuben73@gmail.com, or visit website: https://mbofanatendairuben.news.blog/