adminZvikomborero Parafini
LAWYERS, who fraudulently got certificates from the Council for Legal Education, may be facing legal action if the arrest of the executive secretary is anything to go by.
Huggins Hardwork Duri allegedly fraudulently issued 19 certificates to undeserving individuals who had failed the conversion exams and went on to apply for admission as legal practitioners.
The Council for Legal Education is responsible for regulating legal education and training, as well as administering conversion exams for foreign legal qualification holders.
Duri allegedly met with a group of students, who had finished a Bachelor of Procedural Law on June 19, and offered to exempt them from writing the conversion exams.
The programme is a post graduate degree offered by the University of Zimbabwe as a bridging programme for those who would have attained their legal qualifications from foreign universities.
On June 20, Duri met an informant and undertook to assist him to attain the certificates that would enable him to register as a legal practitioner.
He indicated that the informant was supposed to just register for the examination and he would ensure that he gets the certificates even if he failed.
Duri charged the informant US$560 registration fees.
The informant agreed and promised to pay the money the following day and reported the matter to the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission.
Duri was arrested after receiving US$520, which was part of the “registration” fees.
Investigations conducted established that Duri had fraudulently issued 19 certificates to undeserving individuals.
Bongani Ndlovu
Mathew Masinge