Chronicle Editor
EARLIER this month, the Law Society of Zimbabwe deregistered 25 lawyers for failure to comply with the profession’s laid down procedures among other misdemeanours. Among the legal practitioners barred from practicing was Bulawayo lawyer Russel Dzete who faces a litany of allegations of fraud alongside four other people who are not lawyers.
They are accused of defrauding three people of $38 600 and R60 000 by selling them non-existent stands in Cowdray Park suburb. Dzete is not the only city lawyer enmeshed in scandal as there are various others implicated in criminal behaviour. The law firm he worked for, Marondedze, Mukuku and Partners was last week placed under curatorship and had its senior partner Mr Tonderai Mukuku, suspended from practising after the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) detected acts of misconduct.
Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese ruled in favour of the LSZ after it filed an urgent chamber application which sought an order to have the law firm placed under curatorship.
In papers before the court, LSZ said Mr Mukuku abandoned his offices and left the law firm in the hands of his assistants who did not possess practising certificates. Justice Makonese directed LSZ to appoint its deputy executive secretary, Mr Wilbert Pfungwadzashe Mandinde as curator meaning that the law firm will cease operations and Mr Mandinde will be in charge to manage its activities.
The judge also ordered the LSZ to immediately take control of Marondedze, Mukuku and Partners’ trust accounts and administer them. Mr Mandinde, in his founding affidavit, said the respondent committed acts of unprofessional conduct by deserting the office leaving behind his unlicensed assistants to illegally run the operations of the law firm without practising certificates.
The placement of the law firm under curatorship follows the closure of Cheda and Partners in 2015 and the deregistering of its senior partners Mr Sindiso Mazibisa and Mr Mlamuli Ncube over a raft of fraud allegations involving hundreds of thousands of dollars in trust funds. There are other lawyers whose cases involving fraudulent sales of houses are before the courts and this trend is worrying.
Members of the public hold lawyers in high regard because they are considered beyond reproach when it comes to legal matters. When that trust is breached, the legal profession faces the danger of losing credibility in the eyes of society.
We are therefore alarmed by the rise in cases of criminal behaviour on the part of lawyers. Their job is simple. They interpret laws and represent clients in courts of law but when they connive with criminals to defraud their clients, then they deserve no sympathy and should face the full force of the law.
Elsewhere on these pages, we publish a story in which the Chief Justice Luke Malaba says he has a vision to transform the country’s judiciary system to meet international standards. In his official and maiden address to the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) Winter School since his appointment three months ago, CJ Malaba, who was guest of owner at a dinner organised by the LSZ on Saturday night, expressed concern about standards of representation in the country which he said compromise the justice delivery system.
“The subject of this winter school dovetails with the vision I am setting for our judiciary, which is centred on basic standards. These call for one to be determined and committed to providing efficient delivery of justice.
“There is no compromise on that one because that’s what I live for. If you are interested in being with me, join that bandwagon,” said CJ Malaba. He said most lawyers criticise the bench or accuse judges of being “hard” when judgments are not in their favour, but in his view there is no difference between a lawyer and a judge since they use the same standards.
“We can’t just criticise a judge simply because you don’t like a judgment but ask yourself what contribution you made to that judgment. We want lawyers who are sharp thinkers and come to court with well researched, balanced and novel cases which can lead to landmark judgments.
“It is important for Zimbabwean lawyers to match international standards and if it means we have to specialise, let’s do that but first we need to raise the standards and focus on performance,” said CJ Malaba.
He bemoaned the levels of competence in the legal fraternity where several cases are dismissed because lawyers fail to apply due diligence. The Chief Justice said legal practitioners are so powerful because they represent people on life issues.
We totally agree with the Chief Justice and sincerely hope that he will crack the whip so that the legal profession is cleansed of rogue lawyers and standards are raised to international levels. There is simply no justification for a legal representative to dip their hands into the trust funds and help themselves to clients’ funds.
Online Reporter