Kumbirai Hodzi, the Zimbabwe Prosecutor General, has been taken to the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission over his handling of the Thabani Mpofu court case.
Joshua Chirambwe, wrote to ZACC after his arrest on Monday and said Hodzi is abusing his office.
Below is the full letter
The Chairperson
Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission 09-06-20
HARARE
Dear Madam
RE COMPLAINT AGAINST THE PROSECUTOR GENERAL, KUMBIRAI HODZI
My name is Joshua Chirambwe. I am a legal practitioner with Lawman Attorneys
and a Zimbabwean citizen. I address you in my personal capacity though fully
aware of the fact that the issues I raise are of overarching public importance.
I wish to complain about the conduct of the Prosecutor General of Zimbabwe, Mr
Kumbirai Hodzi. I take the firm but respectful view that he has corruptly abused his
power(s) for personal benefit.
It is my considered opinion that in doing so, he has
committed the kind of criminal misconduct that the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption
Commission (ZACC) has jurisdiction over.
I set out the basis of my complaint.
Sometime in or around January 2019 I caused to be filed out of the Constitutional
Court a constitutional application by which I challenged the appointment of
Kumbirai Hodzi as the Prosecutor General of Zimbabwe.
I brought the challenge
on many grounds the two main ones being that I believed that the provisions of
the constitution bearing on the matter of his appointment had not been studiously
observed and that at any rate, he was not a fit and proper person to hold the office
of the Prosecutor General.
The application was resisted inter alia by the Prosecutor General, Mr Kumbirai
Hodzi. Heads of argument were filed, the matter debated and judgment reserved.
Judgment remains awaited.
When the application was opposed, I picked whispers which seemed to suggest
that Prosecutor General Hodzi had instructed the Police to arrest my counsel,
Advocate Mpofu arising out of this and a related application. I took note of the
whispers.
On or around the 1st of June 2020, I became aware that Advocate Mpofu had been
arrested on account, inter alia of his representation of me in the court challenge.
There was a suggestion that I was to be his co-accused. Advocate Mpofu was
placed on remand by the Prosecutor General through his representatives. I was of
the view that the Prosecutor General was hopelessly conflicted in the matter and
had not acted independent of his personal interests. I just could not fathom how
such a process could proceed in his name.
On the 8th of June 2020, it having become clear that the police desired to interview
me, I presented myself to the police at the Police Anti Corruption Unit (PACU).
I was promptly arrested and taken to court on a form 242, a copy of which I attach
to this letter. You are free to have your own views about the charges that I am
facing.
Once at court I was remanded, at the application of a representative of the
Prosecutor General, and released on bail. The bail terms were themself set by a
representative of the Prosecutor General.
The current position therefore is that I am an accused person before the courts
and I am being prosecuted not by a private party but by the Prosecutor General
and under his authority. The conduct of the Prosecutor General aggrieves me, these
circumstances considered.
I am of the view that the Prosecutor General has misconducted himself in a criminal
manner by abusing public power for his own personal benefit. I have suffered as a
result of the abuse by the Prosecutor General of a constitutional power, yielded to
him as a public trust for the vindication of the public good and the protection of
the legitimate interests of the subjects of the State of Zimbabwe.
I set out below the considerations that compel the charge that I make and
commend those to your consideration:
1 I am a litigant in on going litigation in which I challenge the validity of the
appointment of the Prosecutor General. The Prosecutor General has on account of that challenge decided to prosecute me. His prosecution of me
is for his benefit in that it is meant to punish me for “daring” to question
the validity of his appointment. Whilst I must treat the Prosecutor General
as a lawyer to whom some eminence must attach and who is consequently
deserving of honour in virtue of his office, I am of the view that he has in
my case abused his powers for his private benefit.
He does not stand in the
place of a citizen who seeks justice through the criminal justice machinery.
He is instead actively abusing his power(s) for private gain or satisfaction.
2 My prosecution in the face of a reserved judgment is designed to and has
the undoubted effect of threatening the Constitutional Court. It is also meant
to unduly influence the court. My prosecution is an attack on the
independence of the Constitutional Court which must deal with my
application without fear or favour.
I take the view that a man to whom the
constitution guarantees independence cannot himself act on the basis of self
interest and indeed in a manner which threatens the independence of the
apex court seized with determining his fate. The logic fails!
3 The fact that my lawyer is being prosecuted on account inter alia of his
representation of me, adds to the abuse. The Prosecutor General is in
purporting to do his work effectively interfering with my lawyer’s ability to
benefit me by his skill.
This is meant to leave me without a lawyer.
The actions of the Prosecutor General above particularised are inconsistent with his duties.
He has engaged in them for the purposes of reaping a personal benefit to
my prejudice. Prima facie, provisions of section 174 of the Code have become
engaged. Public power may not be used for purposes of serving selfish interests.
The events of the past few days confirm the whispers that I began hearing when
my application was lodged. Circumstantially, I see the Prosecutor General’s
footprints in my prosecution and I am of the view that further investigation will
yield more.
Even without those footprints, the fact of the matter is that I am being
prosecuted in his name, at his instance and for his OWN benefit.
I despair of nothing but justice; simple as it must be between man and man. It is
not lost on me that the Prosecutor General is the ultimate prosecuting authority.
He however, does not enjoy any immunity and is constitutionally “prosecutable”.
I believe there is in my troubles, a case worthy of your attention. I am ready and
prepared to assist in any manner that may vindicate the public good. I formally
place my complaint before you.
Sincerely
Joshua Chirambwe
Cc. Minister of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
Judicial Services Commission
Attorney General of Zimbabwe
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice Legal and Parliamentary Affairs
