By Political Correspondent
THE Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) has taken top human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa to task for ranting that Chief Justice Luke Malaba is captured.
The complainant in the matter is , Tinomudaishe Chinyoka a lawyer by profession who petitioned the lawyers group over an August 2018 slur uttered by Mtetwa during a hearing at the Chief Justice’s chambers at the Constitutional Court.
The complainant was attending a similar function acting on behalf of President Emmerson Mnangagwa in an application filed by the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA).
It is at the venue where renowned lawyer , Mtetwa allegedly shouted at the Chief Justice describing as “a captured judge.”
“It is alleged that you were the legal counsel for the applicant (MISA). It is further alleged that on your way out of the chambers, you shouted, ‘… this is a case that I do not mind losing because we all know that the Chief Justice is captured’. It is alleged that these words cast serious aspersions on the office of the Chief Justice and the judiciary,” a letter dated 24 January 2022, from LSZ to Mtetwa reads.
“From the attached documents, your professional conduct seems to point to a possible contravention of Section 23 (2) (a) of the Legal Practitioners Act [Chapter 27:02] as read with By-Law 3 (20) and (21) of the Legal Practitioners (Code of Conduct) By-Laws SI 37 of 2018.”
The lawyer was given 14 days to respond.
Failure to respond within the stipulated time frame will result in negative inferences being drawn from your failure to respond and the matter would be forwarded to the disciplinary and ethics committee without further reference to you.
