Harare businessman Tendai Mashamhanda has escalated his case against Chief Justice Luke Malaba after filing a formal complaint with the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission accusing him of ignoring serious allegations of judicial misconduct within the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
In his scathing complaint, Mashamhanda claimed to have written five letters to Malaba, raising concerns over the conduct of various judicial officers and the JSC secretary Walter Chikwanha.
He further alleged that Malaba had failed to acknowledge receipt of any of the five letters preferring to simply ignore him.
“My complaints are against the conduct of various judicial officers and the secretary of the JSC. They are serious in nature and by failing to respond the chairperson of JSC is sweeping the matter under the carpet to protect improper conduct of his officers and in the process denying me justice,” he said.
Mashamhanda further accused Malaba of violating his constitutional rights by failing to address his concerns and pleaded with the ZHRC to investigate the matter and ensure that due process is observed.
“I want the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission to investigate violation of my constitutional rights,” he charged.In his previous letter addressed to Malaba, Mashamhanda detailed a prolonged struggle for justice in a property dispute marred by alleged judicial misconduct.
He accused the Supreme Court of crafting a “shamelessly biased” judgment based on “a number of lies manufactured by the Supreme Court itself.”Mashamhanda alleged that the court fabricated evidence of a non-existent caveat and a falsified auction to rule against him in the property dispute.
He also painted a grim picture of a Judiciary riddled with misconduct, highlighting numerous complaints against JSC employees, including “sexual abuse of female employees, criminal abuse of office, failure to follow tender procedures, improper employment of staff.”
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He further alleged the existence of a powerful “cartel” within the JSC manipulating tender processes and even interfering with court decisions.“Your failure to take corrective action resulted in the emergence of a powerful cartel which allegedly manipulates tender processes and some court decisions thereby interfering with the independence of the Judiciary,” he said.
The letter to Malaba ends with the demand for the resignation of several judges.“In my humble opinion, in the interest of justice, as already demanded in my complaint letters, the Supreme Court Justices lied and deliberately misrepresented facts. They must resign,” he said.
