– FULL UNEDITED COPY –

RE: TAKING THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION TO THE JUDICIARY SERVICES COMMISSION
Reference is made to the above subject matter.

INRODUCTORY REMARKS
In his inauguration speech, President Emmerson Mnangagwa identified corruption as one of the main impediments to the country`s economic growth and declared zero tolerance to the scourge. Mnangagwa then swiftly went on to establish a Special Ant-Corruption Unit housed in his office. All this was done to improve efficiency in the fight against all forms of graft and to strengthen the effectiveness of national mechanics for the prevention of corruption.

The Chief Justice Luke Malaba who heads the judiciary on his part has supported the president and declared as quoted in the Chronicle of 6 October 2018 that he will leave no stone unturned in his endeavor to fight corruption within the country`s Judiciary. Speaking during the commissioning of three new courtrooms at the Bulawayo High Court, Malaba said it was disheartening to note that corruption continues to rear its ugly head in the country, particularly within the Judiciary.

He warned judicial officers and lawyers against engaging in corruption, saying those involved will be harshly dealt with.

“There is a terrible scourge called corruption and as the judiciary, we maintain our stance that cases of corruption must be dealt with decisively by the courts. I want to make it clear to all and sundry, whether you are a lawyer, judge or magistrate that it is our duty to deal decisively with cases of corruption,’’ he said.

Malaba said the Judiciary Service Commission (JSC) has embarked on an in-house training programme to curb the scourge within the organization.

“We have, on our part, embarked on a programme of continuous judicial education and training to inculcate into judicial officers the necessary values for fighting corruption,” he said.

IS THE JSC WALKING THE TALK OR THEY ARE MERELY PAYING LIP SERVICE ON THEIR COMMITTMENT TO FIGHT THE SCOURGE CALLED CORRUPTION?

Whilst we applaud the Chief Justice for taking every opportunity during public appearances to castigate corruption; the vice is deeply entrenched in his own department.

It is actually more pronounced right at his door step with his most trusted senior managers and the secretariat deeply embroiled.

Private investigations will confirm that corruption is rife at the top echelons of the JSC involving high-ranking state officials who have become filthy rich overnight as shall be more fully discussed below. The members of the JSC secretariat comprise of very powerful and influential individuals. Their word is law such that no subordinate member of the commission dares to challenge even some of their unlawful instructions. If you refuse to comply, they can demote you, transfer you to the remotest part of the country or even create spurious allegations against you and then constitute a Kangaroro Disciplinary Tribunal that superintends over your exit.

There is evidence of well-coordinated and intricate teamwork in these corrupt activities involving Mr Guvamombe the Chief Magistrate, Mr Chikwana the Acting Secretary and his Deputy Mr Mutevedzi which backdates to 2013.The cases of corruption include instructing to finalize matters in a particular or preferred way, nepotism in the employment of staff, hiring own companies or colleagues companies to conduct auctioneering services for the Sherriff and sexual abuse of female staffers in return for lucrative appointments. In other instances some shelf companies are awarded contracts say to refurbish courtrooms under unclear circumstances.

One thing for sure is that the Chief Justice knows that the Chief Magistrate is very corrupt because at least he has said it in public in his meetings with magistrates. Further, the estranged wife of the Chief Magistrate Angeline Guvamombe has also brought to the attention of the JSC secretariat and the Chief Justice a dossier of the man’s numerous corruption allegations but these have been swept under the carpet. What perhaps the Chief Justice does not know is that the Secretariat from the Acting Secretary to the Sheriff of the High Court is probably the most corrupt institution in the whole country. The Acting Secretary Mr Chikwana himself had several corruption complaints raised against him to the Acting Secretary and Chairman of the JSC, the Prosecutor General and the Anti-Corruption Commission.

All these organs are seized with these complaints but for some unknown reasons, all these state organs have remained silent. The only thing that the commission did was to order the immediate termination of the contracts for some of the auctioneering companies linked to the top Brass that were corruptly appointed. One of these numerous complaints was made by Ruby Auctions in 2014 and resuscitated in 2017 but it was swept under the carpet and never investigated. This renders the President and the Chief Justice’s clarion call to fight corruption within in the Judicial Service Commission in particular and the nation in general laughable. If anything it renders the whole process a child’s play. It shall be the attempt of this paper to try and demonstrate the rot in the JSC starting with the Chief Magistrate Mr Mishrod Guvamombe.

1. THE CHIEF MAGISTRATE-MISHROD GUVAMOMBE
The Chief Magistrate Mr Guvamombe is the one who supervises all magistrates and the administration of the inferior courts. He is often described by scribes in media circles as a shrewd and veteran magistrate who has a zero tolerance to corruption. In public he fights the scourge like hell but in practice he is the chief architect of corruption in the justice delivery system with special reference to the inferior courts.

During the first quarter of this year, the Chief Justice, the Acting Secretary and the Chief Magistrate went on a whirlwind tour of the provinces where he had meetings with all the magistrates and members of the supporting staff discouraging them from engaging in corrupt practices. Of particular interest is that in most those meetings, the Chief Justice was very candid with the Chief Magistrate in front of his subordinates. For example, in Harare and at Holliday Inn Hotel the Chief Magistrate was told point blank to stop forthwith the habit of phoning magistrates instructing them to finalize matters in a particular way and to stop demanding bribes from litigants.

The Chief Justice was after all very correct when he admonished the Chief Magistrate to stop the habit of phoning magistrates instructing them to finalize matters in a particular way and to stop demanding bribes from litigants. There is need to do an inquiry on this subject matter on all provincial stations because ninety percent of the corruption cases are going to be tried in the Magistrates Court. They say a fish rots from the head and if the Chief Magistrate is corrupt then then the whole campaign to fight corruption will be derailed from the onset. Private investigations have so far confirmed the Chief Justice’s assertions before magistrates that the Chief Magistrate interferes or obstructs the administration of justice by telling magistrates how to determine matters placed before them. A case in point is that of The State v Maranjisi &Anor CRB 547&673/15 which was tried at Plumtree Magistrates Court on 8 September 2015.

(a)THE STATE v MARANJISI & ANOR CRB 547 & 673/15
In that case the accused appeared before Mr Philimon a magistrate at Plumtree Magistrates Court facing one count of unlawful possession of gold without a licence in violation of section 3 (1) of the Gold Trade Act (Chapter 21:03). The respondents faced an additional count of smuggling in contravention of section 182 of the Customs & Excise Act (Chapter 23:02). Respondents both pleaded not guilty. At the close of the state case the respondents applied for discharge at the close of the state case. In a clear case of abuse of office the trial magistrate was phoned a record seven times by the Chief Magistrate during the course of the trial wherein he was instructed to grant the application and immediately issue a disposal order for the gold .The trial magistrate acting on those instructions granted the application for discharge and acquitted the respondents even before the state had responded to the application. All the people who were in court on this particular day from the Court orderly, interpreter, prosecutor, defence counsel and the magistrate may be interviewed and they will confirm this. The call history of the trial Magistrate on the 8th day of September 2015 can also be used to confirm this.

(b)MISCONDUCT CHARGE: EDMUND RUGARE MBOKO
On 1 August 2014 the Chief Magistrate appointed a disciplinary committee to conduct a disciplinary hearing in a matter involving Mr R.E Mboko EC NO 1529564T a general hand at Mbare Magistrates Court. The committee comprised of the Chairman Mr T. Makunde who was Provincial Head Mash-East Province, committee member Mr Nzou who was the Human Resources Officer at Marondera Magistrates Court and Committee Member, Mr N.Korora, an Accounting Assistant at Marondera Magistrates Court. The matter was very straight forward and to the point but as has become the habit of the Chief Magistrate, he phoned the Chairman directing him to avoid passing a discharge verdict when the member had been convicted of corruptly and dishonestly receiving US$2400-00 from a client with a promise to assist in processing a marriage certificate and a resident permit. The member received the money and converted it to his personal use. Again in a clear case of abuse of office, the Chief Magistrate obstructed the course of justice to serve his runner and long-time friend Mr Mboko from dismissal. Fortunately, the Acting Secretary Hon Makarau noticed the anomaly and used her discretion as provided for in the regulations to substitute the committee’s verdict with that of a discharge.

(c )SYSTEMATIC MISUSE OF THE VICTIM FRIENDY COURT (VFC) FUNDS THROUGH DOUBLE DIPPING AND UNDERHAND PROCUREMENT PROCESSES

On 6 December 2013, the Independent newspaper covered a story in which the Chief Magistrate, his deputy now Acting Deputy Secretary Munamato Mutevedzi and Acting Chief Registrar now Acting Secretary Mr Walter Chikwana were embroiled in misuse of the Victim Friendly Courts (VFC) funds. VFC is funded y Save the Children and United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) to promote children’s rights and for swift delivery of justice in cases involving minors who are victims of sexual or physical abuse. Copy of the story from the Zim Independent newspaper cutting is attached hereunder.

According to the story, the allegations came to light through an internal memorandum from the then VFC Coordinator Idine Magonga copied to the Secretary JSC ,Save the Children, the President’s office, Unicef and Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights which detailed the allegations. In the memo dated 18 June 2013, Magonga protested that his summary dismissal was meant to sweep cases of abused donor funds in the department under the carpet.

Documents supplied to the Independent newspaper at the material time implicated the Chief Magistrate,his deputy Munamato Mutevedzi, the Registrar of the Supreme Court Walter Chikwana and the fired VFC National Coordinator Idine Magonga .According to the report, the officers are alleged to have on various occasions claimed from the VFC travel and subsistence allowances in cash while they attended functions fully paid for by government or other organisations. On 28 November 2013 for example, Guvamombe and Chikwana received allowances of US$225 each purportedly to do a three –day evaluation of the VFC in Mutare. However, at the same time the two are said to have attended a Magistrate Association meeting in the town fully funded by the Association. Payments vouchers would suggest that the officials received money for staying in private residences but made no claims for transport costs.

On other occasions they would allegedly raise payment vouchers for companies falsely said to have provided services to VFC and share the cash. In other instances some shelf companies were awarded contracts by the VFC to refurbish courtrooms under unclear circumstances. To further raise suspicion, the officials would in all instances seek the VFC’s bankers FBC to release the money in cash instead of bank transfers to the suppliers of Services. Guvamombe,Chikwana and Magonga were signatories on most of the payment vouchers and letters of instruction to FBC to provide the cash

Despite the fact that these criminating allegations were brought to the attention of the authorities and publicised in the media, they were swept under the carpet with the suspects being promoted to senior posts in the JSC.The question is are we really committed to fighting corruption from the above or we are merely paying lipservice?

2. ACTING DEPUTY SECRETARY MUNAMATO MUTEVEDZI
Mr Munamato Mutevedzi is one of the very Senior Managers in the Judicial Service Commission occupying the post of Acting Deputy Secretary-Legal Affairs. He is the man who preaches the gospel of cleansing corruption within the corridors of the JSC but his hands are dirty. They are always found deep in the cookie jar. Apart from being embroiled in the misuse of the Victim Friendly Courts (VFC) funds together with the Chief Magistrate and the now Acting Secretary, the man is not new to controversy. He should be rotting somewhere in prison but for some unexplained reasons, he is a survivor.

(a)THE STATE v FREDRICK MUTANDA CRB8384/11 AND 8385/11

On 21 December 2011 Mr Mutevedzi who was Provincial Magistrate in charge of Rotten Row was caught red-handed with photographic evidence readily available at a service station along Chiremba Rd meeting with an accusing and discussing a pending court ruling which had been prepared before the parties had completed their addresses. From the facts of the matter,Mr Mutevedzi attempted to influence the court’s decision in the above matter. This information is not based on speculation or a state of conjecture where proof thereof is lacking. There is solid evidence on the matter as can be gleaned on pages 4 & 5 of the cyclostyled Judgment in the matter of Fredrick Charles Mutanda V The State and Kudakwashe Jarabini SC 55/13 as per Malaba DCJ (As he was then) attached hereunder. The Boss as he is affectionately called in the JSC cycle was not even suspended or charged for this dishonorable conduct. Instead he was even promoted to among other things supervise and monitor the vice corruption amongst his subordinates. My foot! They say a prison is a place where big criminals keep their younger ones. True to that adage, Mr Mutevedzi is very eloquent in denouncing other people when it comes to corruption issues but typical of a preacher who preaches that which he does not practice, he is no a saint.

(b) STAND NUMBER 13875 GALLOWAY PARK, NORTON

In this matter in some yet to be unraveled corrupt deal, Mr Munamato Mutevedzi received a residential stand in the plush Galloway suburb of Norton from Jemina Gumbo when he was still Provincial Magistrate in charge of Rotten row Magistrate .He has since developed the stand with funds corruptly acquired from the numerous corrupt deals in the JSC and that is where he is currently staying. Paperwork from Norton City Council can be used to confirm this.Attached is copy of pictures to this house.

3. STHEMBINKOSI MSIPA

(a) AWARDING OF CONTRACTS TO FRIENDLY SHELF COMPANIES IN RETURN FOR KICKBACKS

Mr Msipa is the Acting Deputy Secretary Admiration. He is very calm and unassuming but very corrupt.It is on his desk that shelf companies are awarded contracts say to refurbish courtrooms under unclear circumstances. There is a company trading by the name of G-star which is given virtually all contacts at all the four High Courts to do tiling ,construction of guardrooms ,Installation of workstations, installation of security devices at High Courts, tiling and shelving in return for kickbacks. It has become part of the JSC family and is untouchable and uncontestably allowed to compete against itself. At times it is allowed to contest itself under different names whereas it is one and the same company .One day it is called G-star and the other day it will be called Falcon Pvt(Ltd) .So at the end of the day whichever company wins the tender, it remains G-star. You will only be able to notice when the same staffers appear for each and every project awarded albeit under different shelf companies. The Registrar, the Deputy Registrars and the Administration Managers are simply instructed by My Mr Msipa to do the paperwork and give contracts to this company ONLY. His word is law.

(b)NEPOTISM AND FAVOURATISM

Three quarters of appointments made in the JSC from 2013 to date are either acquaintances relatives or friends of Mr Chikwana, Mr Msipa and Mr Mutevedzi. The majority of these relatives and acquaintances are then corruptly elevated to senior positions in the JSC.A simple staff audit and inquiries within the departments in the JSC will confirm this. The net effect of this nepotism is that efficiency in the various JSC departments is compromised when competent people are sacrificed and overlooked at the expense of relatives who are given an unfair advantage. How is this done? These guys wield a lot of power and authority in the JSC. As indicated earlier on their word is law. If they say jump you don’t question. You simply have to question how high. So what they do is if they want to employ people they write a passionate plea to the Chief Justice explaining how dire the situation in a particular has become.

The Chief Justice will take the issue to the Judicial Commission and once they get treasury concurrence that is the end of the matter .Mr Chikwana as the Acting Secretary will then advertise the posts and appoint the interviewing panel. On the day of the Interviews, the members of the interviewing panel are then called for a pre interview briefing where they are told of the names of the preferred candidates. When the interviews eventually take place it will be a dead rubber. That is how they have managed to fill all posts with their friends and relatives.

(c) SEXUAL ABUSE AND HARRASSMENT

Linked to this aspect of nepotism and favouratism is the issue of sexual harassment. It is again the same characters: Msipa ,Chikwana and Mutevedzi who sexually abuse female staffers in return for lucrative appointments. A case in point is that of Rujeko Macheka Madzinga.This lady was employed in the I.T department at the Supreme Court. Sometime in June 2018 the Chief Justice ordered that she be charged for participating in primary elections.

When the Secretariat tried to charge her she went berserk at the JSC headquarters shouting that no one could charge her since MR Chikwana the Secretary and his deputy Mr Msipa had severally taken turns to sexually abuse her. She even threatened to describe their manhood in front of the JSC staffers. The charges were immediately dropped and a month down the line she was promoted to the lucrative post of Website Administrator.

Mr Mutevedzi also did the same to one of the married Deputy Registrars at the Labour Court Kudzai Mumbengegwi.

Although Kudzai spurned the sexual advances, it remains one of the most documented cases of sexual harassment in the JSC which need to be probed further. The JSC is aware of it, her husband and several other relatives know about this but Mutevedzi is allowed to remain in post and harass other people’s children, wives and prospective spouses willingly, in a clear case of abuse of office .This only serves to show how this vice is deeply entrenched in the JSC and how urgently it must be addressed to protect the vulnerable woman species in the JSC which is under threat by these powerful men. They certainly need urgent protection.

4. WALTER TAMBUDZAI CHIKWANA

Walter Tambudzai is the Acting Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission. He denounces corruption by the day but he drinks, eats and sleeps corruption. In fact he is the most corrupt officer in the Judicial Service Commission to the extent that during the period ranging from 2012 to date a period of less than 6 years he has amassed wealth which an owner of a lucrative gold mine can only dream to own.

For example he is now a proud owner of a storey house in Glenlonrne, to pay off the Ministry of Local for a house in house in Southerton, a drinking hall (club) in Rusape ,he owns more than 100 herd of cattle on a farm jointly run by him and his brother in Matebeleland North, both of them own an earth moving and road making equipment that comprises of caterpillars ,graders ,front and Perry loaders that were bought from Mbada Diamonds by his brother who was ironically corruptly appointed auctioneer in that sale by none other than his brother Walter through the Sheriff. He together with his deputies Mutevedzi and Msipa are also involved in the nepotism and favouratism that sees the employment of his relatives and friends as described above. He is also involved in the corrupt appointment of auctioneers in the Sherrif’s office .He is also the chief architect of establishing and awarding shelf companies contracts say to build and refurbish courtrooms under unclear circumstances. He is also involved in cases of sexual abuse of prospective job seekers and JSC employees in return for lucrative postings within the organization.

(a) CORRUPTION IN THE APPOINTMENT OF AUCTIONEERS & RECEIVING FINANCIAL BENEFITS FROM AUCTIONEERS

Mr Chikwana,Mr Mutevedzi and Mr Mcduff Madega the Acting Sheriff have corrupty amassed wealth through the office of the Sherriff .Most of the company that are put on the panel to sell both movable and immovable property are either linked to his friends and relatives or those of Mutevedzi and Madega.This scheme has been in place since 2013 when as the then Chief Registrar he convinced the then Chief Justice Chidyausiku to take over the operations of the then Deputy Sherriff to the JSC as a revenue making mechanism for the organization. Because these members of the JSC Secretariat are compromised, you will find that at one point the Sheriff’s charges and fees that are used by auctioneers at one point especially between 2015-2017 were extortionate and not affordable. These were proposed by Martin Chikwana the elder brother to the Acting Secretary, forced onto the Sherriff and approved by Mr W.Chikwana .To note however is that these charges were not even supported by the law. They were merely plucked from the air for the sole purposes of profiteering since the Acting Secretary and his Deputies are beneficiaries.

To their credit the Lawyers observed this and raised complaints against the Sheriff to the very Secretary. Credit should be given to the lawyers especially those in Bulawayo with some raising the fact that Mr Chikwana was severely compromised because of his brother Martin’s visible dealings with Hollands Auctioneers in Bulawayo.The matters were discussed in the Commission together with some other related complaints against Mr Chikwana .However due to his growing influence, the JSC only ordered for the termination of various auctioneering companies linked to the Acting Secretary and the reviewing of the Sheriff’s fees and charges so that they may comply with the law. They were asked to advertise for the appointment of new auctioneering companies but to date there is no guarantee that some of the old companies were reincarnated albeit using different names. These guy will do all it takes to make money. It is the process of appointment that is very funny and ease to manipulate. The very same interested parties who comprise of the Acting Secretary and his Deputies are responsible for appointing the selecting team which is led by none other than the Sherriff another interested party and beneficiary. How are the appointments for the Auctioneers made?

Like employment interviews in the JSC ,these ate predetermined .The preferred auctioneers are advised in advance and they meet the requirements ahead of others .Mr Madega is then sent to a Mr Gweme of the Estate Council of Zimbabwe to go and obtain a recommended list to me considered for appointment. He will be told to recommend all their preferred companies and add one for himself. Like the interviewing processes for JSC employees again the Sheriff and his team will after receiving the applications visit the respective premises of the applicants for assessment for academic purposes because the preferred list would have been made in advance. The visits will be a dead rubber or a delayed match. Using the above process, Mr Chikwana has managed to appoint the following auctioneering and he drives material and financial benefit from all of them. This can be tracked from his ZB and MBCA Accounts. Further financial transactions of a similar nature can also be tracked from his wife’s bank account or that of his brother Martin. It is further supported by the vast properties that he has managed to acquire during his 6 year stint at the helm of the JSC.

(1) HOLLANDS-MUTARE AND BULAWAYO
This is an ancient auctioneering company formed in 1902.It is based in Mutare and fronted by a Whiteman but when it comes to their contract with the Sheriff, the Kingmaker is Martin Chikwana the brother to the JSC Acting Secretary Mr Chikwana. He is the many responsible for the Sheriff’s dealings with Hollands in Mutare and Bulawayo. The auctioneering company also does auctioneering business of movables in Mutare and both movables and immovable property in Bulawayo. As indicated earlier on Mr Chikwana drives both material and financial benefit from Hollands Auctioneers. This can also be supported by the vast empire that he has managed to build during a very short period. It is because of the connections between Hollands Auctioneers and the office of the Sheriff that Mr Chikwana has managed to build a storey house in Glenlorne, to pay off the Ministry of Local for a house in Southerton, acquire a drinking hall (club) in Rusape ,buy more than 100 herd of cattle on a farm jointly run by him and his brother in Matebeleland North. He and his brother Martin also managed to acquire earth moving and road making equipment that comprises of caterpillars ,graders ,front and Perry loaders that were bought from Mbada Diamonds by his brother who was ironically corruptly appointed auctioneer in that sale by none other than his brother Walter Chikwana. Mr Chikwana as indicated earlier on drives both material and financial benefit from Hollands Auctioneers. The matter is very easy to investigate since the payments pass through different electronic platforms leaving behind an electronic trail. This can also be tracked from his ZB and MBCA Accounts. Further financial transactions of a similar nature can also be tracked from his wife’s bank account or that of his brother Martin.
NB-Hollands’s contact for movables in Bulawayo was terminated in July this year following complaints to the Commission raised by lawyers. However they are still selling immovable property in Bulawayo.
(2) TWO MUZAYA t/a as HOLLANDS

In Masvingo they used to trade as Two Muzaya but with Martin and Walter Chikwana being the major beneficiaries. All they did was to use Hollands registration documents to sanitise their operations but the two are the individuals behind the company. They benefit directly from the operations of this company up to August 2018 when the JSC forced them to close shop following numerous complaints from members of the public.

(3) TANTES AUCTIONEERING-GWERU

This company was appointed to the Sheriff’s panel of auctioneers in 2016 at the instance of the Acting Secretary Mr Chikwana.In another case of clear abuse of office Mr W Chikwana using his vast powers and authority ordered the Sheriff to give the company a contract. The company belongs to Martin Chikwana‘s wife. The company did not even meet the JSC’s minimal requirements for it to be put on the panel.
NB-Tantes’s contact for movables in Gweru was terminated in July this year following complaints to the Commission raised by lawyers.

(4) DREW AND FRAISER
This is another Auctioneering company which was appointed to the Sheriff’s Panel of auctioneers for immovable properties in 2016.The auctioneering company is run by one Mrs Euphrasia Mupedzisi cell number 0772903358 a relative of the Acting Secretary. Just like in all other cases mentioned above Mr Chikwana drives both material and financial benefit from Drew&Fraiser Auctioneers. This can also be tracked from his ZB and MBCA Accounts. To get further information, one simply needs to audit of Drew & Frasier’s account.

CONCLUSION
This is just but a tip of the iceberg. The list is endless .These people make a killing through these corrupt deals because they get 5% of the purchase price of every property sold with each auctioneer given an average of 40 properties to sell. They also make it a point that if it is the turn of their companies to sell they ask Madhega to look for the files in which valuable properties from posh suburbs were attached and are due for sale. If there is a genuine desire to flush them out, a forensic audit of all the Auctioneering companies contracted to the Sherriff one would be able to identify which company is linked to Mcduff Madega the Sherriff since 2013 can be done. From their financial statements one can easily dictate which companies are linked to Chikwana or Mutevedzi, which one is linked to Gweme of the Real Eastates Council of Zimbabwe .These people make real money because they get 5% of the value of the property sol with each auctioneer given an average of 40 properties to sell. That can be achieved by doing a through financial audit of all the companies. To note however is that there are some very few genuine companies that are appointed on merit and this is done for the obvious reason of sanitising the corruption. There can be no success in fighting corruption if the Judiciary an important and critical player is superintended by this kind of corrupt leadership. They say a fish rots from the head. We need to cut the head first if we are to achieve anything.