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President Robert Mugabe

Leonard Ncube Victoria Falls Reporter—
PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday decried corruption in the judiciary saying the vice negates the fundamentals of separation of powers. In a speech read on his behalf by Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa during the official opening of the Southern African Chief Justices Forum Conference, President Mugabe said if compromised, the system of checks and balances over the other two arms of the State will be compromised.

“Sadly, we receive reports that some judicial officers may not be exhibiting the levels of integrity the office demands. Corruption completely negates one of the fundamentals of having three separate arms of the State and destroys the delicate balance upon which State power is distributed among the three arms of the state,” President Mugabe said. He said judicial corruption erodes any confidence that the general public and politicians have in the bench.

“The three pillars of the State are based on the premise that the judiciary is independent not only of the executive and legislature but of all unlawful extraneous influence, including bribery. If therefore the judiciary is compromised, then the checks and balances that it seeks to exercise on the other two arms of the State is skewed not in favour of the interests of the State but in other interests,” said President Mugabe. Chief Justices and judges from 13 Sadc countries and some from East Africa are attending the conference which ends tomorrow and seeks to tackle issues to do with judicial independence and the right to fair trial.

President Mugabe implored the Chief Justices from the region to take a leading role in fighting corruption. “It’s my hope that you Chief Justices from the region will take charge and play a leading role in eradicating corruption wherever it may rear its ugly head,” he said. The President said the judiciary in Zimbabwe had been attacked for allegedly championing the interests of the Executive following the country’s land reform policy of 2000.

He said Zimbabwe abides by the doctrine of separation of powers and those saying the courts were not independent were unhappy because of the land issue. The President said the enactment of the Judicial Service Act in 2006 to come up with the Judiciary Services Commission headed by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, was testimony of the country’s commitment to independence of the judiciary.

He said colonial laws that were made to serve the interests of a few people against the majority resulted in the land reform in 2000, hence the attack on the judiciary. President Mugabe said he was aware of the attacks on judges since the year 2000, when the government took a political decision to repossess land from white farmers, to redistribute it to the majority of people.

“Zimbabwe respects and abides by the doctrine of separation of powers which has always been enshrined in our Constitution since 1980. In the same breath is independence of the judiciary,” he said. President Mugabe said the attack on Zimbabwe’s judges started with and has always been closely linked to the land issue. He said the Executive and Legislature would not hesitate to change laws that serve the interests of a few people at the expense of the majority.

“A law or legal value that is not reflective of the aspirations and hopes of the people that it seeks to serve can’t be a good law for the people. This is the situation that confronted us in 2000. Laws crafted to protect the propriety interests of a few were read and held up to us to stop us from achieving the very end that the costly liberation struggle had been waged for,” said President Mugabe. The President said the executive will always respect the judiciary and its pronouncements on the law even when its interpretation of the law and the executive’s understanding of the same don’t coincide. “I admit we have voiced our incredulity at such rulings perhaps too publicly, but respecting the role of the judiciary doesn’t mean that we abdicate our role to govern,” he said.

President Mugabe said judicial independence was sometimes abused by some judicial officers to mystify and stem criticism of untenable court decisions. “We respect judicial independence, appropriately raised, but deplore judicial officers who are in essence politicians hiding behind the cloak of judicial independence to mask their political inclinations,” he said. “As people we yearn for justice at all levels which addresses the past and present injustices.

“As a continent we yearn for justice and fairness at international and sub-regional levels so that the rich nations don’t impose their will on the financially weaker ones. Justice is very vital to human development yet sometimes so elusive when people appear before the courts.” President Mugabe castigated laziness in the judiciary, where some officers delay handing down judgments resulting in people staying in prison for years.

He said Africa needed to be united to outdo the machinations of those who do not wish to see the continent prosper.The President proposed the idea of establishing a superior regional court that will have superior and appellate jurisdiction over domestic courts.