Justice Minister Says Fired High Court Judge Mushore Sold A Govt Vehicle
Sacked High Court judge, Justice Edith Mushore, sold a government vehicle, a top-of-the-range Land Rover Discovery given to sitting judges.
A fortnight ago, President Emmerson Mnangagwa removed Justice Mushore from the office of Judge of the High Court for misconduct.
The removal followed recommendations from a tribunal constituted in terms of the Constitution to investigate Mushore’s year-long absence from the Justice Cheda-chaired tribunal.
The Herald says Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, confirmed the sale of the vehicle. He is cited as saying:
Yes, indeed, she sold one of the Government issued vehicles. We are not sure why she did so. She has left more than 90 incomplete cases.
Justice Mushore did not attend the hearing despite valid notifications being sent to her. It was on that basis that the tribunal made recommendations that she is not fit to hold the office of a judge.
Initially, when she was asked to explain her absence from work last year, Justice Mushore said she was unwell, but failed to produce a sick note, according to The Herald.
Some context:
Mushore was appointed to the bench in 2015 from private practice where she was an Advocate of the High Court.
Justice Mushore, who was attached to the Family Law Court at the High Court, last reported for work in mid-June last year.
Judges are not allowed to be absent from work for more than three days without official leave.
In May 2021, Mushore was one of the judges who ruled that Chief Justice Luke Malaba had ceased to lead the bench upon reaching the age of mandatory retirement. Malaba appealed the ruling and won, and he remains the Chief Justice to date.
Some believe she was punished for that ruling.
