BY DR MASIMBA MAVAZA |Abuse of power or abuse of authority, in the form of “malfeasance in office” or “official misconduct”, is the commission of an unlawful act, done in an official capacity, which affects the performance of official duties. Malfeasance in office is often grounds for a for cause removal of an elected official by statute or recall election. Unfortunately our vice presidents are not elected officials and they become laws unto themselves.
Zimbabwean law says that a police officer can only arrest a person if they are wanted on a warrant or if they have “reasonable belief” that someone might have been involved in a criminal offence, or be about to commit an offence, and they therefore believe it is necessary to arrest them. From former Vice President Mphoko coming to Vice President Mohadi coming to Vice President Chiwenga the law has been broken willie nilly. The actions of all three amounts to abuse of power but since none of them is elected their actions are covered in a rob of normalcy.
Starting with Mphoko at a police station Mohadi in Beitbridge and Chiwenga and all his former wives, the hand of illegality is clearly seen.
In order to allege a wrongful arrest, the allegation would hinge on two main things:
1. Whether the officer should or shouldn’t have believed that the person may have been involved in a criminal offence or about to commit an offence
2. Whether or not it was necessary to conduct an arrest
The law demands a neccessary discretion and inquiries could have been continued without an arrest taking place, then a wrongful arrest may have occurred if it is proved as above.
The officer’s belief at the time of the arrest can also be questioned and come under scrutiny after the event, especially if it appears that it was unreasonable for them to suspect the individual of a crime or suspect that the individual can escape before the arrest.
Zimbabwe has set the social media alive with the arrest of Marry Chiwenga. the question borders on the legality of the arrest and whether the Vice president abused his office to order a hit on his wife in order to settle a domestic fight.
Because of the Human Rights laws which exist, whenever an arrest is made, the person arrested always has the right to be treated humanely and be treated with respect. Marry Chiwenga was nabbed while she was bathing dragged from the bathroom naked while her children looked. The kids screamed as the mother was being dragged to the car like a criminal condemned to death.
The arrest of the wife of the VP and a very powerful man in the country shows that the vice president was indeed aware of the arrest. seeing that the previous night there was a family meeting where Marry dressed down the VP. The meeting ended at a very bad ending. the contents of this meeting will be fully published on the near future.
However there are two points to ponder. 1. Was it necessary to arrest before the investigations are completed. ws it neccessary to arrest the wife of the vice president in a manner befitting the second lady of the country.
The arresting details took the oportunity to announce their arrest – although they may not be allowed to make the phone call themselves the news was all over the social media suggesting that the arresting details let the dogs out. Although she was allowed to Seek legal advice and consult with a solicitor in private her dignity was violated when man came to arrest her while she was in her bathroom .
But it is important that we check the Vice president’s history with women before we throw Mary Chiwenga under the bus.
Chiwenga has been married and divorced several times. His known first wife is in Mozambique and is a war veteran. He then married another ex-combated who now lives in Nuneaton in United Kingdom and have four children, all boys.
Soon after he cohabited with a Harare socialite and businesswoman only identified as Mwamuka.
Their relationship went sour after Mwamuka one lunchtime turned up at the officers’ mess at KG6 barracks and lashed out at Chiwenga. She scolded him that he was not man enough and barren. This was caused by Chiwenga’s alleged infidelity.
She told him of his poor bed performance in front of his colleagues.
Chiwenga was so embarrassed and the wife was later restrained. But Chiwenga swore to deal with her.
Chiwenga parted ways with Mwamuka soon after in a very barbaric way.
In 1998 he later married Jocelyn Jacobsen (née Mauchaza) who was a waiter at Jobs Nightspot in Harare and they divorced in 2012.
There were no children from his marriage to Jacobsen, but in June 2009, as the wife of Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) commander, grabbed the triplets of a poverty-stricken mother who appealed for help on national television.
Jocelyn Chiwenga is reported to have pulled up at the young mothers Unit F lodgings in a convoy of Mercs, accompanied by army bodyguards and said she was taking the three babies.
The whereabouts of those kids is unknown today. Their divorce ended so bitter and went all the way to Supreme Court exposing a vast amount of wealth.
Chiwenga also dragged his ex-wife to court over missing guns telling the courts Jocelyn used to beat him up with fists.
Chiwenga with his influence used the military to evict and bar her from his properties. Jocelyn was humiliated as she was manhandled by the soldiers when they stopped her from entering in the properties she had lived during their married life.
In 2011 he married Marry (Mary) Mubaiwa, a former model and wife of footballer Shingi Kawondera, while still married to Jacobsen.
Marry’s relationship to Chiwenga was through the late heroine Kiki Divaris whose Miss Zimbabwe project was a prostitution ring to recruit sex workers for chefs.
In 2012 Marry bore their first child, a son, and a year later she bore a girl. In 2019, suffering from an undisclosed ailment, Marry had Chiwenga checked into a South African hospital.
A fracas arose when his wife Marry visited him. She was later charged with attempted murder.
In December 2019 Chiwenga filed for divorce from Marry citing infidelity issues, forged marriage certificate and that she takes drugs.
He grabbed his children and handed over Marry’s kids with footballers to her mother.
Chiwenga is currently linked to other two women. Reports suggest that he plans to reunite with his UK based wife, a move ZAOGA leader Ezekiel Guti has engineered Chiwenga has a son who is a pastor in that church.
The other woman is Uncle Roland Muchegwa’s ex-wife, Michelle Kawome.
Reports say Michelle is very unlucky when it comes to love relationships.
After leaving an abusive relationship with South Africa based Zimbabwe tycoon Uncle Roland, she fell in love with a top married Harare lawyer who died behind wheels in December 2017.
Kawome recently announced she is engaged to a mysterious powerful man.
Who is it? Mystery surrounds the circumstances leading to the fatal accident that claimed the life of prominent Harare lawyer, Edmore Jori who left behind his wife and three children.
When most people think about the police committing false arrest, they think it refers to an arrest that was not supported by evidence. But this is not the standard for measuring whether the police have falsely arrested someone. To be guilty of false arrest, the police must act without authority, or beyond the scope of their powers.
For example, imagine someone whom the police arrest based on another person’s sworn statement. The evidence later shows the sworn statement was a lie. However, as long as a judge found the statement reasonable at the time and issued a warrant based on it, the police acted properly in making the arrest. In this situation there is no case of false arrest against the police because they have the authority to arrest those they reasonably suspect of having committed a crime.
By contrast, suppose a police officer arrests someone because that person insulted the officer or did something the officer didn’t like. Insulting an officer is not a crime, and unless that officer has another reason to make an arrest, he is acting illegally. It’s possible, though unlikely, that a prosecutor could charge the officer with false arrest.So of a senior officer feels insulted and instructs a government body to cause an arrest this is a clear abuse of power.
So the arrest of Marry Chiwenga even though there is prima facie evidence the instructions to arrest came from an interested party.
The vice president descended into the arena and got mixed up by the dust of the game.
The case of Marry Chiwenga is so tainted with victimisation such that the Vice President has to prove that he is not involved in a domestic case which threatens to turn the nation and government’s institutions a personal property to be used in family fights.
The arrest of Marry Chiwenga came hours after Marry refused to leave the Borrowdale house. was it a matter of if you can not leave You will be arrested.
Jocelyn was kicked out by the army that was clear abuse of the army. Marry was dragged out naked straight to jail. Would this be abuse.
Vice president Mphoko would go to a police station to release criminals and Vice president Chiwenga will call the whole institution of government to arrest his wife to settle a domestic problem. The qualities of our vice presidents God have mercy.
In Beitbridge Mohadi unleashed the police on his wife to settle a domestic issue.
What has gone wrong with our leaders. This does not reflect the ways of ZANU PF.