On December 09 2016, Dr. Maja received a Doctor of Laws degree at the University of Pretoria. His doctoral thesis entitled “A human rights framework towards the protection of minority languages and linguistic minorities in Africa” makes a substantial contribution to knowledge by clarifying the normative content of minority language rights in Africa. Dr. Maja’s work also provides a Draft Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on Minority Langauge Rights in Africa, which if adopted by the African Union, will change the language rights landscape in Africa. Part of his research has been used to draft the Zimbabwean Languages Bill.

IBJ’s first lawyer training in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s 2nd largest city, in May 2011

International Bridges to Justice (IBJ) first established its Zimbabwe Country Office with the Harare-based DRC, which has quickly become a crucial legal hub for the entire nation and has consequently led to increased cooperation with local civil society. The program was established in 2008, the same year a government power-sharing agreement was signed to facilitate the adoption of new legislation, particularly in the field of human rights. This has created an unprecedented opportunity for effective human rights enforcement.

Since the beginning of this project, IBJ Zimbabwe has already come a long way. The police and prison officials have grown more accepting of lawyers’ interventions for the accused. Most notably, IBJ’s influence on Zimbabwe’s practices and legislation as evident by the institution of a free bail system, where low-level offenders are freed from pre-trial detention on condition of appearing for trial.  Your donations made this possible. Please click here to donate again and be part of their transformative work.

Quick Facts:

• 2013 Prison Population: 16,902 (129 per 100,000)
• IBJ-mobilized lawyers took on 108 pretrial detainee cases between December 2009 and October 2010
• In 2010, there was a 42% increase in IBJ-trained lawyers meeting the minimum competency standards for representation of accused persons
• Further, a 81% increase in preventing the use of coerced statements in criminal proceedings was seen
• In 2011 and 2012, IBJ lawyers represented more than 150 indigent accused who otherwise would have had no access to counsel

IBJ’s relentless fight for legal rights has been recognised in a positive light as Innocent Maja, Country Fellow, was featured as a facilitator of a January 2011 panel discussion on the abolition of the death penalty in Zimbabwe. In the same year, IBJ legal fellows appeared and were interviewed on the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation’s SFM “Wheels of Justice” radio program, which is estimated to reach a half-million listeners. However, the IBJ program works not only on the national level, but takes measures to reach out to smaller communities in remote, rural provinces.

At the September 2014 roundtable meeting, the IBJ Zimbabwe fellows were able to address the main causes of the rise of corruption in the system such as poor remuneration for legal practitioners and other key justice stakeholders, general decline in morals and ethics, a culture of greed and self-enrichment, poverty, and abuse of power by state officials.

In order to consolidate and sustain progress through this next phase, IBJ has defined three imperatives for its future work in Zimbabwe:

• Expand the Defender Resource Centers to meet the country’s legal representation needs
• Continue and expand capacity building training of legal professionals
• Expand the reach of legal rights awareness campaigns to empower indigent Zimbabweans to claim their rights

This is why we are calling for your donations to IBJ Zimbabwe this week. Your continued support for International Bridges to Justice and IBJ Zimbabwe is the only way we can guarantee all citizens the right to competent legal representation, the right to be protected from cruel and unusual punishment, and the right to a fair trial throughout the country. We cannot thank you enough for your generosity.

For more on the Zimbabwe Program:

http://www.ibj.org/where-we-work/zimbabwe/

http://www.ibj.org/category/programs/zimbabwe/

http://www.ibj.org/meet-ibj/our-team/team-zimbabwe/

September 2014

IBJ Zimbabwe Fellows, Innocent Maja and John Burombo, hosted a roundtable discussion on 12^th September 2014 to address the issue of corruption in the criminal justice system. The roundtable was paticularly focused on how lawyers have contributed to its growth and what can be done to reduce this scourge in the system. The legal practitioners and members of the Law Society of Zimbabwe who participated in this open discussion agreed that corruption had become rife in the criminal justice system and that lawyers had somewhat contributed to this by turning a blind eye to its occurrence and seemingly accepting it as normal.

The participants agreed that the main causes of the rise of corruption in the system included: poor remuneration for legal practitioners and other key justice stakeholders, general decline in morals and ethics, a culture of greed and self-enrichment, poverty, and abuse of power by state officials. They then identified the damage done by this system of corruption as including loss of public confidence in the system, loss of the public confidence in lawyers, justice being compromised, lawyers becoming incompetent and lazy, and the legal process becoming expensive due to payment of bribes.

The participants agreed that the problem of corruption within the system was bigger than individual lawyers. Thus, the recommendation was made that lawyers act as a single body to challenge the problem using the Law Society and other organizations like International Bridges to Justice. They also made other recommendations to deal with the problem, which included compulsory continuous legal education for lawyers, the Law Society taking a decisive stance against members engaging in corruption, improvement of remuneration, particularly for junior lawyers, and running awareness campaigns against corruption.

The participants expressed gratitude towards IBJ for hosting the discussion; with one participant commenting that the event had dealt with “more issues that expected” and another saying it was “an enlightening event”.

This week IBJ is again bringing its unique approach to criminal defense training to Zimbabwe, with a two-day advanced training conducted in Harare on Monday and Tuesday, followed by two days in Bulawayo.

Led by IBJ Training Director Kellie Krake and IBJ’s Zimbabwe Fellows Innocent Maja and John Burombo, Harare lawyers interested in expanding their trial skills and devoted to public service gathered together to advance the movement towards guaranteed legal representation for every man, woman and child facing criminal accusation in Zimbabwe.

Early access to counsel for vulnerable accused was the primary theme of the conference. Dynamic speakers talked about the importance of counsel including notable Zimbabwean defense attorney Alec Muchadehama and the Deputy Secretary of the Law Society of Zimbabwe, Wilbert Mandinde. Technical instruction in the application of Zimbabwean law designed to protect accused persons whose mental capacities may be impaired by psychological illness was delivered by Dr. Antony Petrie of the Counseling Services Unit of Zimbabwe. Mr. Nelson Zvidzai, the Director of the Legal Aid Directorate, discussed the State’s role in protecting early access to counsel for vulnerable accused.

Weaved throughout these skills-building training sessions, exercises devoted to allowing lawyers to explore their motivations, values, and goals stimulated this community of defenders to coalesce around a common vision for justice. This feeling of common purpose culminated in these lawyers continuing the tradition IBJ had established in Singapore and Davos, and joining their voices to sing “Woyaya”: “We will get there, heaven knows how we will get there, we know we will.”

Zimbabwe defense lawyers sing Woyaya.

Ms. Dorcas Atukwa takes the mic to share with the entire group the goals her team had identified as aligned with their common values in a breakout session.

Mr. Marufu Mandevere argues before Magistrate Evangelista, legal programs director of legal aid directorate with 18 years of experience as a magistrate.

The main aim of the events was to educate the citizenry on the rights available to accused persons in terms of the Zimbabwean Constitution. In its work in Zimbabwe, IBJ has noted that one glaring issue in the criminal justice system is the apparent lack of awareness, amongst the majority of the people, of the rights availed to them in the Constitution. Thus, IBJ-Zimbabwe has come up with rights awareness posters to educate ordinary people of the rights available to them from the time of arrest up to the conclusion of a trial in court. The posters, in the three main languages spoken in the country, namely Shona, Ndebele and English, have tried to simplify the rights entailed in the Constitution in a manner that everyone can understand them. These rights relate to arrest by the police, access to legal counsel, timeous appearance before court, bail, and speedy conclusion of cases.

IBJ-Zimbabwe believes that such initiatives are the first step in building a culture of respect for human rights in the country through the empowerment of the common man. In the long term this will go a long way in helping the majority of the citizenry access justice and, thereby, develop the criminal justice system.

Above: IBJ Fellow and Country Manager Innocent Maja sticks a poster at a Magistrates Court in Harare. (Photo by Florence Chatira)

Above: The IBJ Zimbabwe Fellows team (from left to right: John Burombo, Pamela Chiwara, and Innocent Maja) introduces the posters in Shona, Ndebele and English. (Photo by Florence Chatira)

Above: A volunteer helps IBJ Fellow and Country Manager Innocent Maja. (Photo by Florence Chatira).

Above: The English version of the first ‘Know your Rights’ poster.

Above: The English version of the second ‘Know your Rights’ poster.

Reflecting back on the discussions that took place throughout, IBJ and the participants all found that the objectives were met. The participants identified challenges in the justice and penitentiary system that cause congestion and overcrowding in remand prisons. Among these challenges were the poor functioning of the criminal justice system, the inability of ordinary citizens to pay legal fees, the slow process of criminal procedures and lack of coordination among the different actors of the system. The discussion continued by looking for practical solutions to the problem and ways in which lawyers can alleviate overcrowding in the remand prisons, with particular attention being paid to the lawyers collaborating with IBJ in a future legal aid pilot to be possibly launched in Bulawayo province. Lawyers committed to assist in providing legal assistance. This is a great step towards giving a sense of responsibility to lawyers from that province.

Participants found the discussion useful for their daily jobs and relevant to the challenges that Zimbabwe’s criminal justice system faces.  A participant acknowledged that this was “only the beginning” and encouraged IBJ to “set up proper structures” for the engagement of lawyers in legal aid activities across the province.

In the same light, another participant stressed the importance of IBJ to engage senior partners in law firms in mentoring junior lawyers to assist indigent arrestees. He stressed the need to “make senior lawyers understand that the project will also go a long way in developing junior lawyers’ skills”. Another suggested the need to engage prosecutors and magistrates to help resolve the problem of overcrowding. IBJ is committed to creating a collaborative platform for discussion with the different segments of the justice sector of Bulawayo province.

Participants welcomed the provincial pilot legal aid project and asserted their commitment to assist indigent arrestees. They all expressed a strong desire to follow up, attend future roundtable discussions and training events, and contribute to legal assistance efforts so that one day, every man, woman and child accused of a crime in Bulawayo has effective access to quality legal counsel.

All attendants felt that the role and challenges had been identified and what’s more, that recommendations that were brought forward could have a direct impact on the criminal justice system in Zimbabwe. Participants indicated the discussions were ‘informative, vital and an eye-opener.’

The participants agreed that the media have power and an important role in influencing public and government policy.  That is why accurate reporting of cases is seen as an important tool and a method of deterrence to keep the system accountable to its own rule. It was highlighted that the Zimbabwean media has the power to influence the nation’s conscience and it needs to be aware of that power. The tendency to report exclusively on highly political cases, leaving the cases of ordinary people unheard, was debated.

The journalists highlighted their need for training on human rights issues, including the right to privacy.  The issue of privacy was further discussed, with journalists commenting that most journalists or editors were unaware that it is inappropriate to expose the identities of victims of sexual violence or their relatives. Legal procedure, human rights and ethics were other areas journalists requested to be trained in. IBJ will therefore look for partnership with schools to explore the possibility, so that journalists can be provided with the desired training.

Another point of discussion was the need for journalists to be seen as partners of the criminal justice system, both to educate the public and to highlight its failings/mistakes and need for reform. The journalists felt that stakeholders within the criminal justice system view the media with suspicion and are reluctant to cooperate. Closer cooperation between the media and IBJ will be a first step towards changing this.

Lack of accessibility to justice, as well as media, was discussed as it is a problem for those who live in rural areas and those who do not speak English and Shona. There are no newspaper distributors in many rural areas, meaning that newspapers reach these places when the news is already out of date.  Radio and television broadcasts also do not cover more than half of the country.

After a lively discussion it was agreed that much needs to be done to improve the role of Zimbabwean media and standards of reporting. In this regard many issues need to be considered. These include continual training, with classes tailored to meet specific needs such as education within specialist areas. The need for a self-regulatory body is also pressing, since Zimbabwean journalists lack any form of professional body, which undermines their ability to control their freedoms. It was also highlighted that journalists and relevant professionals need to cultivate professional working relationships. This way, journalists have experts to turn to with questions or requests for editorials, thereby improving the quality of reporting. To that end the IBJ Zimbabwe team ensured all the journalists present had their contact details and expressed their willingness and desire that journalists get in touch whenever they have any legal questions.

After this fruitful meeting, the first step is to build a stronger relationship with editors in media houses and find out how IBJ can contribute to further training of the media. Participants were enthusiastic about this opportunity and future events, with one journalist saying that he “would not want to miss any, so long as I’m available.” The focus on the media shows that IBJ is committed to approach all actors in the criminal justice system. This way, we can fully contribute and improve the justice systems in the countries we work in. This approach has already borne fruit, as several Zimbabwe newspapers have already reported on IBJ’s work. This shows that we are increasingly driving the focus of the media on ordinary citizens enmeshed in the criminal justice system.

Above: IBJ roundtable made headlines in the Harare Metro on November 3rd, 2010

Lawyers come to the IBJ Harare Defender Resource Centre (DRC) on a regular basis to meet with IBJ Fellows, dissect the nuances of cases and access legal resources. We envision the DRC as a ‘safe place’ where defenders can conduct interviews and research, prepare their cases, discuss the obstacles they face, and family members of the accused can seek legal advice. We are continuously looking for ways to expand the available stock of legal materials and improve the resources available to the DRC users. Until now, the resources available in the DRC were mostly online, on our DefenseWiki and Legal Training Resource Center. We are very pleased to announce that Book Aid International has just donated legal books to enhance our efforts to transform the office into an inclusive and resourceful center.

Book Aid International is a UK-based NGO that provides books to NGOs, libraries, hospitals, refugee camps and schools in order to support literacy, education, training and publishing efforts across the world. They have collected and shipped 56 books focusing on criminal law and human rights for IBJ Zimbabwe Legal Defense Program. These include human rights reports, training and capacity-building manuals, legal reference books and dictionaries. This comprehensive list of books and materials will help lawyers in Zimbabwe prepare cases and devise more efficient strategies to defend indigent arrestees in court.

This brings the DRC one step closer to the visionary model resource center; a central hub where the legal culture can flourish. As the program matures, we hope that more and more members of the Zimbabwe justice community will gather at the collaboration venue to exchange ideas and gain knowledge from these resources.  Cheers to Book Aid International for their contribution to better equip the lawyers in Zimbabwe to defend the rights of the accused!

Above: The Harare DRC: one step closer to providing all necessary resources for the legal community (Photo by Carla Laroche)

The participants then proceeded to come up with strategies for the preparation and conducting of such a census. They agreed that it was important to, initially, sensitize the necessary authorities, particularly the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs, on the census and its objectives. They also agreed on the need to come up with a standard questionnaire and a concept paper for the census. The partner organizations agreed to collaborate with IBJ and make use of their structures in conducting the census. It was agreed that this census would initially target the main remand centres.

The participants then came up with specific action plans for the implementation of these strategies. Participants expressed gratitude at the hosting of the discussion by IBJ, many hoping that this census would spur more collaborative efforts with IBJ.

Above: Lawyers discussing the need for a prison census in Zimbabwe (Photo by Florence Chatira)

On Friday, United States federal public defender, Anthony Natale gave detailed lectures on developing a theory on the case and cross examination, providing training on practical skills that attendants found helpful and said that they would use in their day-to-day practice.

In addition, distinguished Zimbabwean lawyer Alex Muchadehama gave a presentation on the security of criminal lawyers in Zimbabwe, highlighting that lawyers should call upon the state to enforce already existing measures to ensure their safety.In an enlightening discussion, lawyers spoke about the current state Zimbabwe and what this means for the legal system. Politically, they agreed, the inclusive government has lead to a number of legislative political compromises, which have particularly affected local criminal law. Additionally, separation of powers appears to have ceased to exist. The current economic status, they noticed, has lead to a number of problems within the criminal justice system, including mass corruption throughout the justice system, where bribes have become commonplace.

On Saturday, Anthony Natale led a cross-examination demonstration, in which every attending attorney had the chance to develop and ask questions of mock witnesses. Each participating lawyer, which was over 99% of the lawyers in attendance, found this to be the most practical and educational portion of the day.

Distinguished University of Zimbabwe Professor Feltoe gave a lecture on the importance of an independent judiciary, in which he highlighted problems of corruption and political interdependence that can be found in almost any country but particularly have plagued the criminal justice system in Zimbabwe as of late. He outlined how the Constitution of Zimbabwe, African Commission principles, UN principles, and Bagalore principles all require judicial independence , but formal legal pronouncements are not enough and that implementation and observation are fundamentally important.

The lawyers in attendance spoke about the values that they, as Zimbabwean lawyers, share, which include hope, endurance, commitment and professionalism. As a constituency of lawyers, they pledged to stand up for their shared values in order to break away from the cycle of corruption in the justice system and change the Zimbabwe criminal justice system for the better.