President swears in six new judges

Harare Bureau
PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday swore-in six High Court judges while Justice Antonia Guvava has been elevated from the High Court to the Supreme Court. Two commissioners of the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission were also sworn in by the Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces at a ceremony at State House.
The six new High Court judges are Justices Loice Matanda-Moyo, Erica Ndewere, Esther Muremba, Owen Tagu, Nokuthula Moyo and Dr Amy Tsanga.

Ms Sethulo Ncube and Professor Carroll Themba Khombe are the two new commissioners appointed to the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission.
In an interview, Justice and Legal Affairs Minister Patrick Chinamasa said the elevation of the judges was to fulfil constitutional requirements that state that the Constitutional Court should have nine judges. The elevated judges left gaps in the High Court that needed to be filled.

“We elevated judges to the Supreme Court to make up the Constitutional Court. That created a gap in the High Court that made it necessary to fill through the appointment of the six judges we have sworn in today,” said Minister Chinamasa.

“The issue was complicated by the fact that currently we have the Electoral Court that had to receive complaints and disputes from the electoral process. That means a lot of judges are busy leaving the normal work of the High Court unattended.”

On the appointments at the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission, Minister Chinamasa said Prof Khombe would replace Mr Jacob Mudenda who was elevated to chair the commission.

Before her appointment to the High Court, Justice Matanda-Moyo was president of the Labour Court. At one stage she was Director of Public Prosecutions in the Attorney General’s Office.

Mrs Ndewere was also president of the Labour Court until her new appointment.
Dr Tsanga was a law lecturer at the University of Zimbabwe  specialising in family law.

Mrs Muremba was a senior regional magistrate for the Central Division while Mr Tagu was senior regional magistrate for Western Division.
Mrs Moyo was in private practice in Bulawayo.

Prof Khombe was the regional director for Institute for Rural Technologies and was also a part time lecturer at the Lupane State University and the National University of Science and Technology.

Ms Ncube was Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association coordinator for the Southern region.
The event was attended by Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, Judicial Service secretary, Justice Samuel Kudya and other High Court judges.