ASPIRING female judges came under the spotlight yesterday, as five other candidates, including two senior police officers, chickened out of public humiliation that has befallen many of the candidates, who failed pre-interview exams.
BY PAIDAMOYO MUZULU
The women, who braved the interviews included University of Zimbabwe law lecturer, Sylvia Chirau, United Nations programmes manager, Choice Damiso, former Musasa Projects director, Sheila Mahere-Nyagumbo, and former Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission technical adviser, Noria Mashumba.
Mahere-Nyagumbo and Mashumba came under pressure from Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku on why they had come to the public interviews after they failed the pre-interview written examination.
They said they believed they needed an opportunity to present who they were, rather than to be written off for failing one exam.
“I knew I did badly. I don’t know what happened to me. I have no excuse for it, but I also know I can do better. The exam was part of a process and I had to stay on course, that’s why I came to defend myself,” Mahere- Nyagumbo said.
Mashumba said: “Yes, I would have thought of giving up, but I want to consider that judgment writing is one of the core components of a judge. There are other components and I can do well.”
An expecting mother, Damiso, who was eloquent on most of the questions, was asked by Commissioner Priscilla Madzonga about how she would balance motherhood and the bench.
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“I know soon I will have a baby, but this could be a problem only for some time until the baby is old enough, but I don’t think having a baby is a chronic condition,” she responded.
“Moreover, the Constitution is clear that people should not be discriminated on the basis of gender, race or pregnancy.”
Chirawu responded to questions to the satisfaction of the people in the gallery, who applauded her, as they followed proceedings. Samuel Deme, a visually impaired legal drafter in the Attorney-General’s Office, was the only male candidate, who attended yesterday’s interviews.
Police Assistant Commissioner, Benjamin Mhiripiri and Commissioner, Solomon Mubatapasango withdrew from the interviews.
The officers had failed the pre-interview exam.
Other aspiring judges, who developed cold feet are Sethulo Ncube and Olivia Zvedi.
