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Response to comments by Minister Chinamasa in The Herald on 4 July 2002
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
July 07, 2002

• The reason the court initiated proceedings against the Minister was because of apparently contemptuous and intemperate remarks allegedly made by the Minister of Justice ( then the Attorney General), which were calculated or at least gave the impression of undermining the integrity of the Judiciary and the procedure of the court when he attacked a judgment of the Honourable Justice Adam.
• The proceedings which gave rise to the order for the arrest of Mr Chinamasa arose from a summoning in terms of the court’s inherent jurisdiction to require him to explain his allegedly irregular remarks.
• The Minister, in further contempt of the court, of the Presiding Judge and the judicial process, made no attempt to attend court on the day the matter was set down for hearing, nor to justify his absence.
• The report of 4 July 2002 in The Herald quoting the Attorney General as stating that a default judgment should have been issued instead of a warrant of arrest is a shocking misrepresentation of the law. A default judgment cannot be issued in contempt of court proceedings. In addition, it appears that the Minister seeks to pervert the course of justice by misrepresenting the law and threatening censure of judges through the public media.
• It further appears that this mis-application of the law by the Attorney General is the reason why he has not bothered to direct the police, again in contemptuous disregard of court orders, to arrest the Minister of Justice.
• The Herald report quotes the Minister making further intemperate remarks calculated to undermine and bring into disrepute the integrity of the courts, namely: " ‘It seems to me that in issuing a dubious arrest warrant, Justice Blackie is following a bad precedent set by Justice Gillespie of delivering a hostile parting shot against the Executive’ said Cde Chinamasa … Cde Chinamasa said the conduct by Justice Blackie constituted a gross abuse of judicial office and should not be tolerated. … ‘ In fact the abuse is so grave that in my view it is tantamount to misconduct. Notwithstanding Justice Blackie’s pending retirement on July 18, I am going to consult with the Chief Justice and recommend to him the setting up of a tribunal to investigate the conduct of Justice Blackie in this matter.’ … The minister said he was appalled that a court would spend its precious time ‘investigating and harassing innocent people’ without being bothered by the fact that the same court allowed ‘dangerous American terrorists to go scot-free."
• It is our firm belief that it is in the interests of safeguarding the integrity of the court and maintaining public confidence in the judicial system that a Presiding Judge in contempt proceedings is entitled, if not obliged, to order the committal of the person who has failed or refused to appear. Indeed it is normal to issue a warrant of arrest for anyone subpoenaed to appear before the High Court and this even happens in civil matters.
• This case reflects a disturbing and growing trend by Government officials to believe that they are a law unto themselves and to behave accordingly.
• We are concerned that such actions by the Minister will provide carte blanche or other officials to act in similar manner. We are closely monitoring similar questionable behaviour by other officials such as the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Publicity in the President’s Office.
• This is not the first time that the Minister has attacked and sought to undermine the Judiciary. He has been reported to have intemperately attacked the former Chief Justice, other white judges of the Supreme Court and High Court, and any other judges who have exhibited a degree of independence in interpreting the law. In many cases he has used Parliamentary privilege to protect himself whilst making such statements.
• In terms of section 87 in the Constitution it is the Chief Justice who is entitled to initiate investigations into the conduct of a judge of the High Court. The perception created through The Herald report that the Chief Justice takes orders from a member of the Executive is appalling as it flies in the face of constitutional safeguards regarding separation of powers.
• We are concerned that this is yet another example that the Government has no respect for the rule of law, that Government officials are seemingly immune from court process and arrest, and that the police continue to ignore court orders. The precedent set by the Minister undermines public confidence in the judicial process.
• We call upon the law enforcement agents to abide by Justice Blackie’s court order and we call upon Minister Chinamasa to bear in mind the oath he took on assuming public office as the Minister of Justice to uphold the laws of Zimbabwe.

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