PROMINENT Harare human rights lawyer, Charles Warara has won this year’s Walter Kamba Rule of Law Award in recognition of his role in leading the private prosecution and incarceration of rapist, ex-Bikita West MP, Munyaradzi Kereke.
BY PAIDAMOYO MUZULU
Kereke, who is currently serving an effective 10-year jail sentence following his conviction in July this year for raping a minor relative at gunpoint, had evaded justice for six years.
The award is given to lawyers, who would excelled and distinguished themselves, as human rights defenders.
Renowned retired South African Constitutional Court judge, Justice Albie Sachs, presented the Law Society of Zimbabwe-administered award to Warara at a ceremony held in Harare on Saturday.
Speaking after receiving the award, Warara said: “It’s a great honour to receive such a prestigious award, which only a few distinguished men and women have received before me. I believe the work I did was not for my pleasure or benefit only, but it’s a vindication of the firm belief that I hold that justice in any society is the bedrock of a prosperous society.”
The soft-spoken lawyer said: “The rule of law only prospers in a nation where lawyers are not there for their benefit alone, but to serve weak and the down-trodden.”
Warara managed to pursue justice for the victim against the State’s refusal to prosecute Kereke, citing insufficient evidence to secure a conviction.
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The case took four years, as Warara sought to privately prosecute Kereke, as the Prosecutor-General opposed the granting of the private prosecution certificate.
The matter was only settled by the Constitutional Court, paving the way for the trial early this year at the Harare Magistrates’ Court.
The award is named after the late lawyer and first black vice-chancellor of the University of Zimbabwe at independence in 1980 – Walter Kamba.
Regional magistrate, Noel Mupeiwa convicted Kereke after a six-month trial and sentenced him to 14 years in prison. Four years of the sentence were suspended, effectively living Kereke with a 10-year sentence.
Kereke is now appealing against both conviction and sentence.
