The world was shocked by a picture and video of Mary Chiwenga being wheeled to court in a very bad shape. The scenario showed the cruel and vindictive character of a system. The decision by the magistrate to bring the accused person to court regardless of him being told her condition was outrageous overzealous and vindictive. The magistrate’s actions were inhuman and knee shaking.
In many jurisdictions this amounts to Judicial misconduct. Judicial Misconduct occurs when a judge acts in ways that are considered unethical or otherwise violate the judge’s obligations of impartial conduct. This includes where a judge has lost any sense of reason and probably wrongly believed that by humiliating Mary Chiwenga Mubaiwa he puts himself in good books with the Vice President.
People should understand that the Vice President has no power over courts. He did not even put pressure on the magistrate to humiliate Mary Chiwenga. The vice President contrary to what people would say is a very loving person. He is a strict person and he is a man who focuses on his wishes and wants his things done but he is not a vindictive person. The fact that his estranged wife was being harassed at a court of law it did not have his signature.
Actions that can be classified as judicial misconduct include: conduct prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts and treating litigants or attorneys in a demonstrably egregious and hostile manner. Rules of official misconduct also include rules concerning disability, which is a temporary or permanent condition failure to respect these could be misconduct.
What the magistrate did in the case of Chiwenga amounts to abuse of power.
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.
The magistrate in the case of Mary Chiwenga had so many options before him. He would have made a video call. Or dispatch a police officer to go and access the condition of Mrs Chiwenga. Lawyers are officers of court and the magistrate should have taken the word of the lawyer Sibale Beatrice Mtetwa.
In order to force a sick person to court the court would have satisfied itself that the person is faking sickness. 2. Whether or not it was necessary to order and conduct an arrest.
The law demands a necessary discretion and inquiries could have been continued without an arrest.
The magistrate’s belief at the time of the issuing the warrant of arrest can also be questioned and come under scrutiny after the event, especially if it appears that it was unreasonable to make such an order.
Zimbabwe has set the social media alive with the warrant of arrest of Marry Chiwenga and the subsqent order to bring her to court at all cost. the question borders on the reasonableness of the warrant of arrest and whether this was done to please the Vice president.
While the narrative out there is that the vice president is the force behind the humiliation of his wife it is very clear that the Vice president could not have ordered the court to issue a warrant of arrest. He has no reason to do so as he is aware that the hearing has not started. Why would he force her to come to court for what benefit.
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 dragged to court in her death bed. This reminds is when she 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. Then now brought in an ambulance forced to reveal her blood leaking hands. Why was that necessary?
Why not take her in chambers why open court in that condition.
The arrest of the wife of the VP and a very powerful man in the country shows that someone was seeking to please the vice president.
However there are two points to ponder. 1. Was it necessary to issue a warrant of arrest before the investigations of whether she was sick or not are completed. Was it necessary to arrest the wife of the vice president in a manner befitting the second lady of the country. Even of they are fighting.
her dignity was violated when man pulled her to court in a condition nobody will ever wish for her worst enemy.
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.
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.
It is naive to blame the husband in every domestic problems.
The vice president did not take part in the court’s decision to issue a warrant of arrest. This judiciary mistake has nothing to do with the Vice President. It is wrong to try and see elephants in a house.
It is not right that the social media goes all out only to try and tarnish the image of the good vice president.
Nobody says that the actions by the court were justifiable. It was indeed a work of an overzealous judiciary officer who thought by being unreasonable he becomes tough.
The picture of Mary showing her bleeding hand to the world shows that many people are bleeding yet the world is blind.
This was abuse of the justice system. The most confusing thing is that not even one woman activist raised a finger.
Even the suspected rapist Hopewell Chin’ono saw nothing to Twitt about in this case. What a shame.
[email protected] – Dr Masimba Mavaza
