Chronicle Editor
Mashudu Netsianda, Senior Court Reporter
THE Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has shortlisted 37 candidates, among them Zimpapers legal secretary Mrs Daphine Tomana, to fill nine positions on the High Court bench.
The High Court has a total of 26 judges at its stations in Harare, Bulawayo, Masvingo and Mutare.
The vacancies arose after six judges from the High Court were recently elevated to the Supreme Court to replace six judges of that court who were appointed to the Constitutional Court (ConCourt).
An additional three will fill an already existing deficit.
Among those shortlisted for interviews from the southern region include Hwange regional magistrate Mr Collet Ncube, Bulawayo lawyers Advocate Lucas Nkomo, Mr Simba Mawere, Mr Bongani Ndlovu, Ms Samkeliso Ndebele and Adv Sijabuliso Siziba.
Notable names of people shortlisted include two judges from the Labour Court Justices Rogers Manyangadze and Euna Makamure, Chief Magistrate Mr Munamato Mutevedzi, Industry and Commerce legal advisor Mr Never Katiyo and the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) director of legal services Ms Florence Jambwa.
Others are regional magistrates Mr Godwin Chizhande, Mrs Sandra Mupindu, Mrs Estere Chivasa, Mr Taurai Manwere and Mrs Lucy-Anne Mungwari.
JSC deputy secretary Mr Elijah Makomo, former Bulawayo High Court registrar Mr Gibson Mandaza and Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs director Mr Charles Manhiri and two officers from the Attorney-General’s officer Mr Samuel Deme and Mr James Mukaratirwa were also shortlisted for the interviews.
In a statement, JSC said the interviews will be conducted during the subsistence of the current Covid-19 lockdown restrictions
“Following the invitation to members of the public and to His Excellency, the President, to nominate suitably qualified persons to be appointed as judges of the High Court, in terms of section 180 (4) of the Constitution, the Judicial Service Commission received 37 valid nominations,” said JSC.
The interviews for the shortlisted candidates will be conducted between July 26-28, 2021 starting at 9AM in Harare.
Although the interviews will be open to the media and members of the public, JSC advised members of the public against physically attending at the venue of the interviews in light of a spike in Covid-19 cases in the country.
“To ensure compliance with the requirement to hold the interviews in public the proceedings will be streamed live on Judicial Service Commission media platforms (Twitter & Facebook). The Judicial Service Commission is in the process of engaging the national broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, to have the interview proceedings beamed live,” said JSC.
The recruitment drive for more judges opened last month after the JSC invited members of the public to nominate eligible candidates to fill nine vacancies at the High Court bench.
In terms of Section 179 of the Constitution, for a person to qualify for appointment as a judge of the High Court, they must be at least 40-years-old, have been a judge of a court with unlimited jurisdiction in civil or criminal matters in a country in which the common law is Roman-Dutch or English, and English is an officially recognised language.
Alternatively, the candidate should have been qualified to practise as a legal practitioner in Zimbabwe or in a country in which Roman-Dutch or English and English is an officially recognised language for at least seven years and is still so qualified, and is a Zimbabwean citizen.
After meeting those basic requirements, the prospective judge then has to show they are a proper person to hold office as a judge of the High Court, which is where their personal attributes, their standing in society and the legal profession, their legal experience and background and other factors not spelled out in the Constitution come into the reckoning. — @mashnets
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