Judges fume as Chief Justice Malaba bundles them into buses

By Staff reporter

Zimbabwean judges were left fuming on Thursday after they were forced to travel on buses to a retreat in Nyanga by Chief Justice Luke Malaba.

Two buses were assigned to ferry the top judicial officers to the scenic Nyanga in Manicaland which is over 160km from Harare.

A 15-seater was designated for Constitutional Court judges while a 67-seater coach was on hand to ferry the rest of the judges.

Judges were seen being dropped off by their drivers and climbing onto the buses just before midday on Thursday.

Zimbabwean judges are not used to modest life as government pampers them with fat perks which include two vehicles each and some fuel coupons.

A lot have been allocated tracts of rich farmland while their urban homes are installed with both borehole water and solar systems to cushion them from the vagaries of scarce water and electricity in the country.

Their homes are also guarded by armed police officers.

They were each given US$400 000 in unsolicited housing loans by government on the orders of President Emmerson Mnangagwa as the country prepared for elections last year.

Travel as a group in a bus comes as a humiliating experience for the top judicial officers.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the judges said they felt mistreated by the experience.

But while the move could be a prudent decision by authorities, it is also seen as a security risk as any tragedy along the way could plunge the entire judiciary into a crisis.

Putting all judges in one bus is a “grave security risk,” one senior lawyer said.

He added: “God forbid the bus crashes, what happens to the justice system in Zimbabwe? This was not a well thought-out decision. Malaba and the JSC are treating judges almost like school children.”