US embassy cable - 01HARARE2345

UNCLAS HARARE 002345 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NSC FOR JENDAYI FRAZER 
LONDON FOR GURNEY 
PARIS FOR BISA WILLIAMS 
NAIROBI FOR PFLAUMER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, PINR, ZI 
SUBJECT: PRESIDENT MUGABE APPOINTS THREE ADDITIONAL SUPREME 
COURT JUDGES 
 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
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1.   PRESIDENT MUGABE HAS APPOINTED THREE ADDITIONAL 
SUPREME COURT JUDGES, BRINGING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF JUSTICES 
ON THE COUNTRY'S HIGHEST COURT TO EIGHT.  MINISTER OF 
JUSTICE PATRICK CHINAMASA ANNOUNCED THAT THE NEW 
APPOINTMENTS WERE MADE IN PREPARATION FOR AN EXPECTED 
INCREASE IN WORKLOAD.  THE ADDITIONAL WORKLOAD, HE SAID, 
WOULD RESULT FROM APPEALS FROM A NEWLY-CREATED LABOR 
TRIBUNAL AND FROM AN EXPANDED ADMINISTRATIVE COURT, WHICH 
IS HEARING CHALLENGES FROM FARMERS WHOSE PROPERTIES HAVE 
BEEN LISTED FOR COMPULSORY ACQUISITION UNDER THE FAST-TRACK 
RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM.  PRIOR TO THEIR SWEARING-IN ON AUGUST 
2, THE THREE NEWCOMERS -- MISHECK CHEDA AND LUKE MALABA 
FROM THE BULAWAYO HIGH COURT AND VERNANDA ZIYAMBI FROM THE 
HARARE HIGH COURT -- ALL PRESIDED AS SENIOR JUDGES. 
 
2. THE NEW APPOINTMENTS HAVE RAISED EYEBROWS AMONG SOME 
MEMBERS OF THE LEGAL COMMUNITY, WHO BELIEVE THE PRESIDENT 
IS TRYING TO PACK THE COURT WITH HIS SUPPORTERS.  EILEEN 
SAWYER, DIRECTOR OF THE LEGAL RESOURCES FOUNDATION, TOLD US 
THAT THERE WAS NO REASON TO APPOINT ADDITIONAL JUDGES, AS 
THE CURRENT MEMBERS OF THE BENCH WERE NOT PARTICULARLY 
BUSY.  LAW SOCIETY PRESIDENT STERNFORD MOYO, HOWEVER, 
MAINTAINED THAT THE NEW MEMBERS OF THE BENCH COULD NOT BE 
CONSIDERED  STOOGES OF ZANU-PF.  HE DESCRIBED JUSTICE CHEDA 
AS A "SOUND JUDGE" WHO RENDERS JUDGMENTS BASED ON HIS 
READING OF THE LAW, NOT POLITICAL AFFILIATION.  MOYO CITED 
AS AN EXAMPLE CHEDA'S PUBLIC CRITICISM OF FORMER HIGH COURT 
JUDGE PRESIDENT, AND CURRENT ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE, GODFREY 
CHIDYAUSIKU FOR ISSUING A PRO-GOVERNMENT RULING ON THE FAST- 
TRACK RESETTLEMENT EFFORT WHICH CONTRADICTED A PREVIOUS 
SUPREME COURT DECISION.  CHEDA CALLED CHIDYAUSIKU'S RULING 
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"ERRONEOUS."  MOYOOYO DESCRIBED JUSTICE MALABA AS A "SOUND 
AND CAPABLE LAWYER, PERHAPS ONE OF THE MOST ABLE IN 
MATABELELAND", AND SAID HE HAS A STRONG HUMAN RIGHTS 
BACKGROUND.  ALTHOUGH SOME OBSERVERS BELIEVE THAT ZIYAMBI 
DOES NOT POSSESS THE SAME CALIBER OF LEGAL MIND AS HER TWO 
COUNTERPARTS AND ARE SUSPICIOUS OF HER CONNECTIONS TO ZANU- 
PF (HER HUSBAND WAS MINISTER OF JUSTICE WHEN HE DIED IN A 
CAR ACCIDENT ABOUT TEN YEARS AGO), MOYO THOUGHT HER STRONG 
RELIGIOUS CONVICTIONS WOULD PLAY A MORE IMPORTANT ROLE IN 
GUIDING HER DECISIONS THAN ANY POLITICAL SYMPATHIES. 
(COMMENT:  WE UNDERSTAND FROM OTHER SOURCES THAT MANY OF 
ZIYAMBI'S RELATIVES, INCLUDING HER CHILDREN, BLAME ZANU-PF 
FOR STAGING THE ACCIDENT IN WHICH HER HUSBAND DIED, 
ALTHOUGH ZIYAMBI'S OWN THOUGHTS ON THIS ISSUE ARE NOT 
CLEAR.  END COMMENT.)  MOYO NOTED THAT ZIYAMBI IS THE FIRST 
WOMAN APPOINTED TO THE SUPREME COURT. 
 
5. 
COMMENT 
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3.  3.MANY OBSERVERS HAVE BEEN EXPECTING PRESIDENT MUGABE 
TO PACK THE COURT FOR SOME TIME TO DILUTE THE INFLUENCE OF 
THE REMAINING JUSTICES, TWO OF WHOM ARE NOT BLACK.  THE 
CONSTITUTION OF ZIMBABWE PERMITS THE PRESIDENT TO APPOINT 
AS MANY JUSTICES AS HE SEES FIT; IT ESTABLISHES ONLY A 
MINIMUM NUMBER OF JUDGES (FIVE) THAT MUST OCCUPY THE BENCH. 
. 
GIVEN THE STRONG INDEPENDENT BACKGROUNDS OF TWO OF THE 
THREE NEW APPOINTMENTS, IT IS UNLIKELY THAT THE GOZ CAN 
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PAGE 04        HARARE  02345  081245Z 
COUNT ON THEM TO AUTOMATICALLY DO ITS BIDDING.  MORE 
LIKELY, THE PRESIDENT IS PROBABLY LOOKING FOR A SUPREME 
COURT THAT IS "BLACKER," AND IN HIS CALCULATION, MORE 
SYMPATHETIC TO THE RULING PARTY.  HOWEVER, MUGABE STILL 
WANTS A COURT THAT IS RESPECTABLE AND NOT BLATANTLY 
PARTISAN BECAUSE HE VALUES A COURT THAT CAN PUT A CREDIBLE 
STAMP OF LEGALITY ON HIS LAND SEIZURE PROGRAM AND OTHER 
LAWS RESTRICTING POLITICAL FREEDOM.  WE NOTE THAT GODFREY 
CHIDYAUSIKU HAS NOT YET BEEN SWORN IN AS CHIEF JUSTICE; HE 
HAS BEEN ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE FOR MORE THAN A MONTH.  HE 
HAS COME UNDER WIDESPREAD CRITICISM FROM THE LEGAL 
COMMUNITY, AND THE GOVERNMENT MAY BE RETHINKING HIS 
PERMANENT APPOINTMENT.  END COMMENT. 
 
HOOKS 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
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