Corruption allegations shake Zimbabwe’s Supreme Court

An investigation by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has uncovered allegations of corruption at the High Court in Harare involving the mishandling of a controversial $2 million estate. The investigation found that two companies, Sales Cooperation (Private) Limited and Samalyn Investments (Private) Limited, were wrongly subjected to default judgment as some High Court officials allegedly tampered with court records.

The JSC’s report indicated that these officials conspired to place the companies’ counter documents in an “undisputed” court registry, even though the litigation over the estate was still ongoing. The companies had purchased the estate from a deceased person before an aggrieved party attempted to annul the transfer deed. The JSC also accused the law firm Warhurst & Matizanadzo of colluding with court officials to tamper with documents and obtain a default judgment in favor of the opposing party.

The involvement of Warhurst & Matizanadzo has raised serious doubts about the integrity of the Supreme Court officials. A partner at the law firm denied the allegations and expressed outrage at the JSC’s findings. The case has been reported to the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) and several judicial authorities.

Responding to a complaint by Darryn Williams Blumears, a representative of the affected companies, Ms Bianca Makwande, Head of Policy and Legal Services at the JSC, confirmed the allegations of misconduct. She noted that the companies’ appeal documents were filed on 27 September 2019 but were mistakenly included in the list of uncontested appeals, resulting in an unfair judgment.

Blumears’ complaint has since been supported by the JSC. Documents show that the LSZ has demanded an explanation from Warhurst & Matizanadzo. One of the Supreme Court officials involved has resigned, while another, identified as Stone, denied any wrongdoing and called the JSC’s investigation “procedurally unfair” and “defamatory.”

Stone argued that she and her colleagues were not given an opportunity to respond to the allegations before the JSC issued its findings. She requested that the complaint be dismissed on the grounds that there was no evidence of her involvement in bribing court officials. The LSZ has referred the matter to its Disciplinary and Ethics Committee for further investigation.