Magistrate’s conflict of interest exposed in land case
By Violet Gonda
1 February 2010
Samuel Zuze, the Chipinge magistrate, who found four farmers guilty of refusing to leave their properties last Tuesday, has presided over a case in which he has a vested interest. He is the alleged beneficiary of a farm owned by one of the white commercial farmers he convicted last week.
The magistrate convicted and sentenced Algernon Taffs, Mr Z.F Joubert, Mike Odendaal and Mike Jahme to pay $800 fines and vacate their properties within
24 hours, but failed to declare that he was an interested party.
Former Commercial Farmers Union President Trevor Gifford, who was arrested last Thursday in connection with the conviction, told SW Radio Africa upon his release on Monday that the Magistrate was given an Offer Letter to take over Mike Jahme’s farm.
Gifford said the Offer Letter, signed by Lands Minister Herbert Murerwa, is for Lot 8 of Newcastle, which is owned by Jahme’s Silverton Estates. He said: This is one of the farms which he (Zuze) presided over and did not announce he was an interested party. It just shows the corrupt manner in which this whole case has been handled.
The Offer Letter is dated 13 November 2009. This is despite government claims that there were no new Offer Letters being given out to ZANU PF beneficiaries, including Ministers, judges and magistrates.
Gifford said he was also shocked to see a magistrate of the lower court refusing to accept an order by the High Court.
The four farmers’ lawyer had made an urgent High Court application a day after they were convicted. The High Court ruled the farmers could stay on the farms until the appeal against their conviction and sentences
were concluded, but Magistrate Zuze refused to accept the order, when Gifford and others tried to deliver it, last Thursday.
This is when the former CFU president was arrested, together with one of the convicted farmers son, Dawie Joubert. The two, who are facing contempt of court charges, were released on bail on Monday. They are expected back in court on the 16th.
Gifford, who is also facing similar charges of contravening the Gazetted Land (Consequential Provisions) Act, will be in front of the same judge on February 24 for refusing to leave his farm. These are the same charges facing more than 150 of the country’s remaining white commercial farmers who have tried to hang on to their properties.
Gifford said the situation in Chipinge, Manicaland province, is very tense with militia and war veterans not listening to the High Court. He said the local police are not helping either, so the farmers are expected to travel to Harare on Tuesday to appeal to the police headquarters, to enact the judgement from the High Court, which allows the farms to go back on the farms until their appeal has been heard.
The farmer said the Global Political Agreement, signed by the partners in the inclusive government, is still not being put into practise and people continue to disrupt the prospects of Zimbabwe’s recovery.