Stephen T Chifamba
Harare (News of the South) – Lawyer Joshua Chirambwe, recently arrested for “defeating or obstructing the course of justice” has dragged Prosecutor General Kumbirai Hodzi to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), accusing him of abusing his “power(s) for personal benefit.”
Chirambwe, a litigant in the Constitutional Court application seeking to impugn the appointment of Hodzi by President Mnangagwa to the “strategic” post of Prosecutor General, is one of three lawyers recently arrested in cases that linked them to the arrest of Advocate Thabani Mpofu who is also accused of defeating the course justice.
The other two are Tapiwa Makanza and Advocate Choice Damiso, who was subsequently released after being turned into a state witness.
Chirambwe, of Lawman Law Chambers, believes the arrest of Advocate Mpofu is a tactical design to deprive him of legal representation to the advantage of Hodzi.
“I wish to complain about the conduct of the Prosecutor General of Zimbabwe, Mr Kumbirai Hodzi.
“I take the firm but respectful view that he has corruptly abused his power(s) for personal benefit…in doing so, he has committed the kind of criminal misconduct that the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission (ZACC) has jurisdiction over,” Chirambwe said in his letter to the Commission chairperson.
Setting out the basis of his complaint, the legal practitioner said in January 2019 he filed a Constitutional Court application, outlining that the constitutional provisions bearing on the appointment of the Prosecutor General had not been observed, and that the appointee was “not a fit and proper person to hold the office of the Prosecutor General.”
The matter was argued, and judgement was reserved.
It was at this stage, Chirambwe stated, that he gathered whispers to the effect that Hodzi, in his capacity as PG had instructed the police to “arrest my counsel, Advocate Mpofu arising out of this and a related application.”
In a long letter to the ZACC chairperson, Chirambwe argued that his prosecution, in the face of a reserved judgment, flew in the face of justice.
“My prosecution in the face of a reserved judgment is designed to and had the undoubted effect of threatening the Constitutional Court.
“It is also meant to unduly influence the court in that it tells the court that it must find that my application is invalid,” he complained.
While his prosecution – against this background – threatened the independence of the Constitutional Court, Chirambwe complained, the prosecution of his lawyer on account of representing him added to the abuse.
“The fact that my lawyer (Advocate Mpofu) is being prosecuted on account inter alia of his representation of me, adds to the abuse…This is meant to leave me without a lawyer,” Chirambwe explained, adding: “I’m muzzled.”
Chirambwe’s letter to ZACC, casting aspersions on the conduct of Hodzi, comes hard on the heels of a Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) press statement condemning the recent arrests and persecution of lawyers “for doing their professional work.”
The LSZ statement revealed that the police had arrested at least four legal practitioners in less than a month, including Advocate Thabani Mpofu who is now out on a ZW$20 000 bail.
Advocate Mpofu is the legal counsel for opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa.
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