daniel chigunwe
Crime Reporter
A HARARE businessman has written another letter to Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, claiming that some judges were abusing their office and favouring lawyer and CCC official Tendai Biti in a long standing property dispute.
According to the businessman, Mr Tendai Mashamhanda, the judges and other officials within the Judicial Service Commission are failing to perform their duties in accordance with the law, for the benefit of Biti and other alleged fraudsters.
In January this year, the businessman wrote a letter to Minister Ziyambi requesting a response to allegations he had raised of criminal abuse of office, conflict of interest and obstructing the course of justice against some judges, lawyers and JSC officials.
This came after on May 31 last year, Mr Mashamhanda raised several red flags over the manner in which the Supreme Court handled his property dispute case and alleged collusion among senior judicial officers and lawyers to influence the case’s outcome.
Back then, he alleged that some judges of the Supreme Court abused the independence of the Judiciary, and the supremacy of the Supreme Court as the final court of appeal in non-constitutional matters.
Mr Mashamhanda said the Justices had “breached their oaths of office” and therefore “must resign to prevent further damage to the integrity of our justice system”.
Minister Ziyambi recently confirmed receiving some of the letters which were previously written by Mr Mashamhanda, adding that he had forwarded some of the complaints to the JSC for investigations and was awaiting a response.
The house, worth US$231 000, was bought by Mr Mashamhanda in 2019 after it had been attached from Harare lawyer Mr Puwayi Chiutsi following a wrangle with his former client Mr Elliot Rodgers over US$70 000 of trust money. High Court Judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi later ruled that Mr Mashamhanda was the legal owner.
In the latest letter to Minister Ziyambi, Mr Mashamhanda said he was still waiting for a response to the complaints he had raised.
“I have previously raised serious complaints to your esteemed office on 31 May 2022, 25 August 2022 and 23 December 2022 and to date I am unfortunately yet to be favoured with a response to the aforementioned complaints.
“It is my considered opinion that the serious nature of these complaints warrants a response. I therefore remain humbly expectant that I will be favoured with a response to my complaints.
“In this letter I wish to bring to your attention further developments that clearly demonstrate how certain Judges are failing to perform their duties in accordance with the law and to the benefit of Tendai Biti and other alleged fraudsters. There has been unforgivable violations of the Judicial Service (Code of Ethics) Regulations, 2012 – as I will outline.
“I will also highlight how certain Judges and individuals have been working in cahoots to corruptly deny me justice. They operate like a cartel, and took the outrageous position that I should be punished by the Judiciary for raising my voice about how my lawful and undeniable rights have been violated (repeatedly). They have wrongfully taken my actions to be an insult on the Judiciary. My complaint is based on facts on record and in black and white. It cannot be swept under the carpet as simply an insult to the Judiciary,” he said.
Mr Mashamhanda said some of the judges were failing to timeously deliver reserved judgments as prescribed by section 19 of the Judicial Service (code of ethics) Regulations, 2012 and failure to recuse themselves as also prescribed by the law.
He outlined some of the cases of conflict of interests among judges and reserved judgements which were not delivered within the stipulated time of 180 days.
Mr Mashamhanda also highlighted that his family has not been able to live in peace and enjoy property rights from the date of the Supreme Court Judgment on February 15, 2022 and has constantly been threatened with eviction.
He also said that recently he received summons from a local company, Bariadie Investments, that he is embroiled in the property dispute with, to pay US$2 800 in rentals per month and another one from a former legal clerk with Tendai Biti Law Chambers, Constantine Chaza, who is claiming US$65 000 being damages for ‘instituting malicious prosecution’.
Chaza has already appeared in court facing two counts of fraud, one of which concerns the Ridgeway North property.
Online Reporter