Online Reporter
Yeukai Karengezeka-Chisepo-Court Correspondent
A 23-YEAR-OLD Harare man who was impersonating Deputy Chief Justice Paddington Garwe in an alleged bid to obtain information from the Judicial Service Commission has been jailed for two years.
Martin Rashai pleaded guilty to impersonation charges when he stood before Harare magistrate Mr Artwell Sanyatwe. The State is represented by prosecutor Ms Dzidzai Josiah.
According to the prosecution, on May 5, 2026, the JSC’s Deputy Head of Human Resources, Mr Sekeni Tafadzwa, and human resources officer Ms Abigail Ziti received WhatsApp messages from a person who identified himself as Deputy Chief Justice Garwe.
The accused requested information regarding upcoming interviews for IT officer positions and also inquired about a transport officer vacancy at Kwekwe Magistrates Court.
The inquiries raised suspicion as it appeared unusual for a Constitutional Court judge to contact human resources officials directly.
When asked where he was stationed, the sender reportedly claimed that he was based at the Constitutional Court, leading Ms Ziti to believe she was communicating with the Deputy Chief Justice.
She subsequently shared the requested information.
The court heard that Ms Ziti later attempted to call the number, but it was unreachable. A WhatsApp call also went unanswered, with the sender instead requesting that communication continue through text messages.
However, on May 6, 2026, Ms Ziti checked the Deputy Chief Justice’s official contact details in the human resources system and discovered that the number used to contact her did not match those on official records.
The following day, she reported the matter to Mr Sekeni, who revealed that he too had been contacted by the same number.
Internal investigations established that the sender was impersonating Deputy Chief Justice Garwe.
The matter was escalated to Deputy Secretary Dr Katsande on May 8 before being reported to the police.
Detectives launched investigations and established that Rashai had previously applied for employment with the JSC.
Using information obtained from his application, investigators traced and arrested him in Hurungwe.
