President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday, 19 September, swore in the members of the Zimbabwe Independent Complaints Commission (ZICC), appointing former judge Webster Nicholas Chinamora as the chairperson.
Chinamora’s appointment has sparked controversy, as he resigned from the bench last year amid an inquiry into his suitability for office due to serious allegations of misconduct.
Mnangagwa had set up a tribunal based on a recommendation from the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to investigate Chinamora’s fitness to serve.
Balwearie Holdings (Pvt) Limited accused Chinamora of collaborating with a lawyer to issue a judgment in a case that was never actually heard in court.
Initially slow to act, Mnangagwa only established the tribunal after facing threats of legal action from lawyers.
At first, Mnangagwa appointed retired judge Moses Chinhengo to lead the tribunal, but he later replaced him with Justice Ahamed Moosa Ebrahim for reasons that remain unclear.
However, Chinamora’s resignation rendered the tribunal moot, as he was no longer a judge.
Chinamora will be joined on the commission by Elizabeth Rutsate, Andrew Mataruse, and former top police officer Oliver Mandipaka, who also served as a ZANU PF MP.
The commission will be responsible for investigating complaints of misconduct against members of the security services, including the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF), Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), and Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS).
Once the complaints are received, the commission is expected to conduct investigations and make recommendations regarding each case.
In an interview with state media following his swearing-in at State House in Harare, Chinamora said the commission was not established to undermine the powers of the courts or other existing commissions. He said:
The commission has been essentially established not to usurp the functions of the courts or other commissions already in existence.
This commission’s mandate is basically to receive complaints of misconduct against members of the security services; the police, the army, the intelligence services and the prison services.
If there is a complaint which is already being dealt with by the courts, we will leave the courts to complete that investigation.
If it is something that has already been reported to or initiated with another commission, we will leave that commission to deal with it. Our mandate is not to take over their function even if it involves a member of the security services.
My expectations are that I do not look forward to anything different from my previous role as a Judge of the High Court. I am expecting that once complaints are made, we receive and treat them with impartiality and fairness.
The mandate of the commission is to receive, investigate and make recommendations on the individual complaints.
If they require that we deal with them by referring them to the organisations from which the member is complained against, we will do that.
If it requires that the courts intervene, for instance in the case of claims for damages, then we do exactly that.
Critics argue that the appointment of the commission is a charade, as it is chaired by a judge who resigned after a corruption scandal and includes a former ZANU PF MP.
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