via Chiefs need law training: Makarau – DailyNews Live 28 August 2014 by Chengetai Zvauya
HARARE – Justice Rita Makarau has said traditional chiefs need to undergo basic training in customary law.
Makarau, who is secretary of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) and Supreme Court Judge, made the remarks yesterday, before the parliamentary thematic committee on Human Rights chaired by Zanu PF legislator Mike Nyambuya.
Makarau said there has been a lot of disagreements on the interpretation of the law between the traditional chiefs and magistrates, which, she said, needed to be ironed out.
“Customary Courts are our part of the law and are under the administration of traditional chiefs and we have magistrates not agreeing with some of the rulings they make,” Makarau said.
“Some of the people working in the Customary Courts are not trained in law as they are appointed through birth since the courts are traditional. I am not trying to undermine them but I believe that they need to be trained in law.”
JSC is a constitutional body which employs all manpower in the ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.
She said they had engaged the chiefs’ president Fortune Charumbira and had agreed to empower chiefs with legal knowledge.
Traditional chiefs have complained over the relegation of customary law to the periphery.
COMMENTS
makarau must urge the government to teach chiefs not to threaten opposition supporters with eviction during elections not concertrate with customary law and other unimportant things
makarau can’t lecture anyone she needs basic training in telling the truth, the voter’s roll…computer is broken…. is just one little/big example!
Both Makarau and the Chiefs need urgent training in their respective fields, and the following should be highlighted in their training.(a) Not to participate in politics (b)to respect the views of others (c)Learn to tell the truth and respect it.
What Law does Makarau know that she will teach chiefs. You are a pathetic legal professional I have seen, your acclaimed knowledge is useless, you allowed ZANU PF to over take your position. They went ahead with election with no valid voter’s roll, the other political parties could not even access the said roll. why did you allow the election to go ahead against the legal frame work of the credible election. You are useless and on top of that got a farm which you know is buying your silence. Mutambanengwe resigned after realizing that things are against the law. You accepted because you do not know the law.
If legal training were the only thing chiefs needed that would be nice. How about reading and writing and basic hygiene.
Chiefs.. just another tool used by ZPF to team up with ignorant uneducated ZPF youth to bully poor villagers.Thugs have no use for law.
What goes around comes around. You Rita you think you have done a good task. You wait and see when Jugment comes. You will be alone.
Chiefs are born. They dont need training. Makarau needs training