JUDGES have come under fire for demanding farms from government as part of their conditions of service with opposition politicians and analysts yesterday saying judicial officers should refrain from asking for government “freebies” as that had the potential of compromising their independence.
FELUNA NLEYA
This follows recent reports that five newly appointed High Court judges had since engaged the Ministry of Lands and Rural Resettlement seeking commercial farms.
The request, according to correspondence shown to NewsDay, was initiated by Judge President Justice George Chiweshe on May 15 this year on behalf of Justices Erica Ndewere, Esther Muremba, Owen Tagu, Nokuthula Moyo and Amy Tsanga.
MDC-T spokesperson Douglas Mwonzora described the judges’ demand as a sad development.
“In our respectful view, this is a very sad development where the judges want to be given farms as part of their conditions of service,” Mwonzora said.
“It means that they are automatically compromised. It is an issue that must be condemned in its strongest view. Our view is that the conditions of service of the judges and magistrates must be improved so that they are not susceptible to corruption. But parcelling pieces of land to judicial officers compromises them.” Analyst Alexander Rusero said: “These are issues that dominate the courts and this will put them in a compromised situation, especially after benefiting from these farms.
“Yes, they are citizens entitled to land also, but what will become of their duties? It will compromise the whole judicial service. It’s inappropriate from a judicial point of view.”
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Another analyst Wellington Gadzikwa said: “There are two things to it: if someone wants to farm, they should get a farm, but if they are given farms under the land reform programme, is that not going to compromise their jobs?”
Gadzikwa further queried: “It’s a matter of ethics. Are they going to be professional after getting these farms? Why did they not get these farms before when they were being given to people?
Then there is something not clear why they want farms now. Are they not being compromised? Are they going to be impartial?” But Zanu PF spokesperson Rugare Gumbo defended the provision of farms to judges, saying the land reform programme was for the benefit of every Zimbabwean.
“That is a good development for them to be allocated farms,” Gumbo said. “Every Zimbabwean is entitled to be given land. As citizens, they should benefit from the country’s empowerment programmes.”
Some of the top judges that have benefited from the land reform programme include Justices Chinembiri Bhunu, Ben Hlatshwayo, Chidyausiku and David Mangota, among others.
