Bribery claims haunt Chigumba 

Source: Bribery claims haunt Chigumba – DailyNews Live

Farayi Machamire and Maxwell Sibanda      4 February 2018

HARARE – Way back in the year Before Christ, the famous Roman General
Julius Ceasar decided to divorce his second wife Pompeia on the basis of
suspicion.

Ceasar famously said any wife of his must be above suspicion.

It is an assertion that has transcended through time and cuts across all
manner of relationships and professions.

The new Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) chairperson Priscilla Chigumba
is being haunted by suspicion over an unproven allegation raised by former
Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku in 2016.

At the time, Chidyausiku claimed Chigumba had a case to answer on
allegations that she tried to solicit a $20 000 bribe to throw out a civil
case that was before her in 2013.

She will have to fight with her back against the wall to prove that
Chidyausiku’s assertions during public interview for a place on the bench
of the Supreme Court, is just another example in which the law remains on
her side until a time she is proven guilty.

Bible in hand, the High Court judge took oath of office on Thursday to
effectively take over from Rita Makarau whose surprise resignation last
year is still shrouded in mystery.

Chigumba served as a resident magistrate and provincial magistrate before
being seconded to work as a senior professional research assistant in the
Office of the Chief Justice before she was sworn in as Judge of the High
Court on December 20, 2011.

Like the predecessor before her, Chigumba has an affectionate smile but
she will need more than charm as she assumes an office marred with
accusations of tilting the electoral field in favour of Zanu PF.

Constitutional law expert and Kent University Law lecturer, Alex Magaisa,
said the allegations of bribery will probably haunt Chigumba into her new
job unless there is a definite public clearance.

When Chidyausiku made the allegations, Chigumba protested vehemently.

It is not clear whether she was cleared, although her appointment would
suggest that she was.

“If she was cleared of the allegations, that clearance did not receive
sufficient publicity to clear her name in the court of public opinion. In
any event, the allegations seem to have cost her promotion to the Supreme
Court,” said Magaisa.

“If there is any semblance of truth in the allegations, then it casts
doubt on her credibility for the job as she would appear to be
corruptible. However, if she was cleared of the allegations, and it is
possible that it may have been a smear campaign, then this needs to be
made clear in order to give confidence to all political actors and the
electorate…An allegation alone is not enough to disqualify her from
holding the Zec chair.”

Speaking after taking oath of office on Thursday, Chigumba said she was
unfazed by the mystery which still surrounds her predecessors’ abrupt and
surprise resignation, vowing she will dutifully discharge her duties
without fear or favour.

Makarau has declined to shed light on whether she was forced to resign or
she jumped before she was pushed.

“I can never be daunted when the law is certain because my mandate is very
clear, it’s just to administer the law; to apply the law which exists at
this point in time and as a judge I do that on a daily basis so there is
nothing daunting,” Chigumba boldly claimed, adding she will carry out her
mandate without any interference as provided for in the Constitution of
Zimbabwe and other electoral laws.

“It is a great honour and privilege to be asked to serve one’s country in
this capacity as the chairperson of Zec and I promise the Zimbabwean
people that I will deliver a free, fair and credible election.”

The High Court judge said she will treat all stakeholders in a fair manner
and will thrive to maintain an open door policy.

“Certainly yes we will look into those issues,” Chigumba said of
accusations of bias towards Zanu PF leveled against the commission adding
“because it is our intention to deliver a credible election.”

“…My mandate is just to be an umpire and to ensure that there is
fairness in the process of Zimbabweans electing their leaders so it’s a
very clear mandate and I intend to discharge it fully.”

Zimbabwe will hold elections in four to seven months, and providing a
credible voters’ roll will be Chigumba first port of call.

She will also have to deal with rising cases of voter registration slip’s
serial number intimidation which is threatening to smear the credibility
of the biometric voter registration exercise.

Electoral watchdog, the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (Zesn), has
urged Chigumba to strive to safeguard and protect the independence of Zec
by ensuring that principles of good electoral management such as
transparency, integrity, professionalism, competence and fairness are
upheld.

“Furthermore, the network calls upon the new Zec chairperson to ensure
that provisions of the Electoral Act that guarantee freeness and fairness
of electoral processes are respected by all electoral stakeholders in
particular political parties.

“For instance, Zec together with other institutions supporting democracy
such as the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission and the Zimbabwe Republic
Police must bring to account individuals engaging in the illegal practice
of soliciting for voter registration slips’ serial numbers and
intimidating voters,” Zesn said.

The Election Resource Centre (ERC) said Chigumba was faced with a huge
task to ensure the delivery of free, fair and credible elections as
promised by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government.

“The impending elections present a possible turning point in Zimbabwe’s
political trajectory. While every election is a watershed moment in a
country’s history, this particular election comes in the wake of extensive
calls for electoral reforms, chief among them independence of Zec, right
to vote, electoral disputes mechanisms, deterrence of election related
violence and intimidation,” said ERC director Tawanda Chimhini.

“International standards dictate that every Election Management Body
ensures the legitimacy and credibility of the processes for which it is
responsible and this can be made possible by adhering to fundamental
guiding principles which include; independence, impartiality, integrity,
transparency, efficiency, professionalism and service-mindedness.”

While lawyer and human rights activist, David Coltart, applauded the
appointment of woman to important positions, he said women should not just
be appointed because they are women.

Coltart said two of the three appointments at Zec were unquestionably good
“but sadly the appointment of Chigumba was not because of the unresolved
corruption allegation levelled against her.”

Former deputy minister of Justice who is the MDC spokesperson Obert Gutu,
however, lauded Chigumba’s appointment saying the jurist was an astute
legal mind with a strong sense of independence and integrity.

He said the MDC was confident that if she is given the proper latitude to
perform her duties, she will excel.

“The main challenge that we have in Zimbabwe is that there are always some
shadowy but extremely powerful political forces behind the scenes that
invariably dictate the manner in which our elections are conducted,” he
opined.

“We expect Justice Chigumba to stand her ground fearlessly and
authoritatively. She mustn’t be a pushover. We know that there will be
sinister and scandalous political forces behind the scenes who will
relentlessly seek to dictate and direct the manner in which Zec conducts
its operations. Justice Chigumba must rise to the occasion and perform her
duties with honour and integrity. We will be watching her closely.”

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