By A Correspondent| Following Tendai Mashamhanda’s demand last week for Chief Justice Luke Malaba’s resignation over allegations of abuse of office, another letter from High Court and Supreme Court judges pleading with President Emmerson Mnangagwa to investigate Malaba has been unearthed.

The letter, dated 26 October 2020, accused Malaba of running the country’s justice system like his backyard tuckshop, interfering with every judgment, a situation that has left many Zimbabweans shortchanged in justice.

“It is now an open secret that the Chief Justice routinely interferes with the Magistrates and their decisions through the Chief Magistrate’s office.

“Judges are therefore so afraid of losing their jobs that they consciously and subconsciously make decisions they consider safe, even if these do not accord with the law.

“Where certain decisions are made which are unpopular with the Chief Justice, parties are directed to appeal with guarantees of success on appeal. It is also an open secret that no Supreme Court Judgment can be delivered without the Chief Justice’s approval,” states part of the letter.

The judges also lamented the appointment of judiciary staff without proper procedures, which has led to most complaints submitted to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) that do not align with the Chief Justice’s interests being thrown out or swept under the carpet.

“The promotion of senior personnel within the JSC without interviews means that complaints fall on deaf ears.

“There is also what the Chief Justice calls ‘Judgment by consensus,’ a euphemism for discouraging dissenting judgments. When the Chief Justice is approached by a ‘favoured dissenter,’ the dissenting judgment can be converted into the main judgment on instruction from the Chief Justice.

“It is an open secret that most of the decisions paraded as JSC decisions are, in fact, the Chief Justice’s personal decisions which he instructs the Secretary of the JSC to communicate as Commissioners’ decisions.

“There are also many other transactions that have raised eyebrows, including the purchase of the Chief Justice’s residence where the owner received much less than the amount requested from the government.

“The deliberately uninvestigated acts of nepotism and sexual harassment. Allegations against senior personnel within the JSC hierarchy remain a cause for concern.”