Exodus of judges looms

Several Zimbabwean judges have begun searching for alternative employment elsewhere in Southern Africa because of frustration over the government's "siege on the judiciary", 'The Financial Gazette' said on Thursday.

One High Court judge interviewed said he was being considered for a judicial job in Namibia while another said he was scouting for alternative employment in Botswana. "Although most of us have been determined to stay on, sometimes you just end up telling yourself that it's not worth it. We are being labelled (opposition) MDC judges even by some of our colleagues here," one of the judges was quoted as saying. "Our conditions of service have remained poor. The greatest fear in some of us is that we might end up being eliminated physically," the judge said.

"It seems that for one to be accepted as a fair judge you have to discard the book of rules and pass judgments in favour of the government and the ruling party. This is skewed reasoning on the part of some political upstarts who have now completely discredited themselves by doing more talking than thinking," another judge was quoted as saying.

Meanwhile, the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) this week re-affirmed its confidence in the judiciary, including the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay, who was allegedly forced into premature retirement by the government last week. The society, in a resolution passed at its annual general meeting, said it deplored all attempts by the government to impair the independence of the judiciary and create a partisan bench.