The Zimbabwean government has cancelled a controversial training workshop for judges that was initially set to be conducted by the ruling party’s Herbert Chitepo School of Ideology in collaboration with the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).

The training, which was scheduled to take place on 4–5 July 2025 at the Rainbow Towers Hotel in Harare, had drawn criticism for potentially undermining the independence of the judiciary by involving political and intelligence institutions in the professional development of judges.

In an official memorandum dated 2 July 2025, addressed to all Heads of Courts and copied to the Chief Justice and Chief Registrar, the Secretary of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) confirmed the cancellation of the training, which had been presented as a capacity-building exercise under the Integrated Results-Based Management (IRBM) system.

“The judiciary has been actively engaging with the Office of the President and Cabinet (OPC) regarding the most appropriate programme, training material, and resource persons for this performance management training initiative, consistent with the Constitutional requirement of the guarantee of Judicial Independence,” the memo states.

It further explains that, following consultations with the OPC, the decision was made to cancel the planned workshop in order to develop a new training programme that is both judiciary-led and aligned with the principles of judicial independence.

“All Heads of Courts are requested to inform judges accordingly,” the memo concludes, noting that any future training arrangements will be communicated in due course.