Mnangagwa’s gifts to ex-CJ 'taints' judgments

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has presented recently retired Chief Justice Luke Malaba with an agricultural mechanisation package including a tractor, a Nissan UD truck, a boom sprayer and a planter – drawing sharp criticism from lawyers who say the gift retrospectively taints every ruling Malaba made in the President’s favour, reports ZimLive. Malaba retired on 15 May after a tenure marked by persistent accusations that he presided over a politicised judiciary deployed as a tool against the opposition. His exit itself was contentious: when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 70, the Zanu PF government amended the Constitution to raise the retirement age for judges to 75, extending his term. In the months before his retirement, Mnangagwa’s office approved a series of foreign trips for Malaba, allegedly intended to supplement his income ahead of his exit. It is understood he accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars in travel and subsistence allowances, with some trips attracting up to $40 000 each. Mnangagwa announced Malaba’s parting gifts on social media on 6 June. Lawyers said that although Malaba had retired, accepting gifts from a President whose political interests his court repeatedly served sat deeply uncomfortably.

During his tenure, the judiciary threw out election petitions and, in a move that accelerated damaging divisions within the CCC opposition party, recognised Sengezo Tshabangu as the party’s secretary general, a highly contentious determination that led to the recall of dozens of elected lawmakers. Advocate Thabani Mpofu, one of Zimbabwe’s most prominent lawyers, was unsparing in his assessment, according to ZimLive. Mpofu said the legal consequences extended beyond symbolism. ‘The gift is legally significant in that it retrospectively taints every pronouncement that has ever been made by Malaba for the benefit of Mnangagwa. That is how the law on bias operates. A court order tainted by bias will, at the application of a concerned party, be set aside – whatever the consequences. Bias, just like fraud, unravels everything.’ Mpofu said he intends to write to Malaba demanding the return of the gifts, warning that legal action would follow if the retired Chief Justice declined.