Law Society personalising business

be offering diplomas in various fields of law.
In particular, it is offering about four law diplomas which are Diploma in Applied Law, Diploma in Forensic Science and Crime Investigations, Diploma in Commerce and Law and Diploma in Mineral Law and Policy.
The targeted market is not lawyers per se, but anyone whose job involves elements of law.
This idea should be commended as it will increase and bridge the gap in knowledge which exists in some professions like Chartered Accountants, Economists, and Business Executives. The corporate field has radically changed and evolved.
It now demands that accountants have a working knowledge of the law or even geology, hence the introduction of the Diploma in Commerce and Law and Diploma in Mineral Law and Policy.
This is knowledge one will not have acquired in their specialised qualification.
The Law Society of Zimbabwe has taken upon itself to discredit this institute through its communication in the Press.
It does not recognise the qualifications being offered by the Zimbabwe Institute of Legal Studies.
One then wonders the motive of the Law Society of Zimbabwe. This is an organisation which still holds that legal education is only for lawyers, an organisation which holds that legal education should only be for a selected few.
It spearheaded the closure of the Faculty of Law at the then Great Zimbabwe University and Midlands State University sweated for approval of its Law degree.
It took the Midlands State University four or more years to get approval.
Zimbabwe, with all its sophisticated economy and society, cannot be expected to have only two law schools.
We want legal education extended to various professions without them becoming lawyers.
Among other things, the Law Society of Zimbabwe has the powers to make recommendations in relation to training and to encourage and promote the study of efficiency and responsibility on the part of those seeking registration.
The Law Society of Zimbabwe therefore only regulates the legal training of those who want to be registered by them and those people can only be lawyers.
Zimbabwe Institute of Legal Studies is not training lawyers, it is training people so that they can become legal technicians and legal executives.
If the Law Society of Zimbabwe was sincere in its “vested interest in legal training”, why does it not help the institute in establishing proper learning structures?
It only shows that the Law Society of Zimbabwe still has the mentality of protectionism which does not help the public which it says has its best interest at heart.
Is it not in the public interest for various professions to be taught the law component on which they will be encountering in the discharge of their duties?
Surely, geologists and other related professions need to be educated about mineral law and policy without them becoming “learned friends”.
If the Council for Legal Education, the body tasked to ensure the maintenance of appropriate standards of legal education and training in Zimbabwe gave them the green light, how then does it complain?
The Law Society of Zimbabwe has de-registe- red many lawyers before, including Lovemore Madhuku.
For all we know, LSZ had no objection in Madhuku lecturing law at the University of Zimbabwe, but does not want the rehabilitated Masimirembwa to enter into academia and do the same as Madhuku.
This time, Masimirembwa is not only lecturing, but owning the institution.
Precedent?
We therefore speculate that Godwills Masimirembwa is being persecuted because of his political affiliation with Zanu-PF. If that the case, then LSZ has gone to the dogs and it needs to be saved.