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The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), a leading Catholic agency here, has stated that the government should not interfere with the independence of the judiciary. Tarcicius Zimbiti, CCJP director, said: "We have noted with dismay that pressure is put on Supreme Court judges to resign from their positions for racist reasons. This is unacceptable."

The Baptist Union of Zimbabwe has also issued a plea to the government, declaring: "Knowing that we are all accountable to God, who sovereignly put them into power (Roman 13:1-2), the Baptist Union of Zimbabwe calls upon the government to refrain from and oppose all political intimidations, to re-establish the rule of law, uphold the independence of the judiciary, its integrity and impartiality … "

The government of Robert Mugabe accuses many of the nation's judges of holding a "Rhodesia mentality"—a reference to the system of white rule that ended in 1980. "We must begin to exorcise from all our institutions the racist ghost of [former premier] Ian Smith and we do so by phasing out his disciples and sympathizers," said Zimbabwe's justice minister, Patrick Chinamasa.

But many within Zimbabwe and abroad have strongly disagreed, and have issued statements vigorously defending the judiciary. On January 25, the U.N. Special Reporter on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Dato Param Cumaraswamy issued, a public statement drawing the Mugabe government's attention to Principle 2 of the U.N. Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary which obliges the judiciary to conduct their professional duties "without restrictions, improper influences, inducements, pressures, threats or interference, direct or indirect, from any quarter for any reason." The International Commission of Jurists, in Geneva, endorsed the Special Rapporteur's warning.

Zimbabwe's Supreme Court, which has been under particular pressure from the Mugabe government in recent weeks, comprises Chief Justice Gubbay and Justice Nicholas McNally (both white), Justice Ahmed Ibrahim (of Asian descent), and Justices Simbarashe Muchechetere and Wilson Sandura (both black).

The government has also been critical of white High Court judges David Bartlett, Fergus Blackie, George Smith, and Michael Gillespie, and of Mahomed Adam, who is of Asian origin.

The government has specifically accused the Supreme Court of sympathizing with white farmers who are challenging President Mugabe's land reform program to hand over white-owned land to black Zimbabweans. The government is also angry at recent court rulings which Mugabe's supporters claim favor the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the first political party to pose a serious threat to the 21-year rule of Mugabe's Zanu PF. Chinamasa has applied pressure on Justices Gubbay, McNally and Ibrahim to make them quit. At the same time veterans of Zimbabwe's liberation struggle have issued threats against the white and Asian judges.

Justices McNally and Ibrahim have refused to resign. However, after months of pressure and vilification, 68-year-old Justice Gubbay agreed early this month to take immediate leave and formally retire on June 30. He was officially due to step down in April next year.

Justice Gubbay earlier fell foul of the government when he handed down judgments upholding the rule of law. In a landmark ruling, he condemned the violence and farm invasions by war veterans who forcibly occupied more than 1,700 commercial farms last year. "Wicked things have been done, and continue to be done," the judge declared. "The activities of the past nine months must be condemned."

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March (Web-only) 2001, Vol. 45