HARARE
—
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
has
presented
recently
retired
Chief
Justice
Luke
Malaba
with
an
agricultural
mechanisation
package
including
a
tractor,
a
Nissan
UD
truck,
a
boom
sprayer,
and
a
planter
–
drawing
sharp
criticism
from
lawyers
who
say
the
gift
retrospectively
taints
every
ruling
Malaba
made
in
the
president’s
favour.
Malaba
retired
on
May
15
after
a
tenure
marked
by
persistent
accusations
that
he
presided
over
a
politicised
judiciary
deployed
as
a
tool
against
the
opposition.
His
exit
itself
was
contentious:
when
he
reached
the
mandatory
retirement
age
of
70,
the
Zanu
PF
government
amended
the
constitution
to
raise
the
retirement
age
for
judges
to
75,
extending
his
term.
In
the
months
before
his
retirement,
Mnangagwa’s
office
approved
a
series
of
foreign
trips
for
Malaba,
allegedly
intended
to
supplement
his
income
ahead
of
his
exit.
ZimLive
understands
he
accumulated
hundreds
of
thousands
of
dollars
in
travel
and
subsistence
allowances,
with
some
trips
attracting
up
to
$40,000
each.
The
destinations
included
Italy,
Australia,
Namibia,
the
Seychelles,
Morocco,
Ethiopia,
and
Kenya,
among
nearly
a
dozen
countries
visited.
Mnangagwa
announced
Malaba’s
parting
gifts
on
social
media
on
June
6.
“It
was
my
pleasure
to
welcome
the
recently
retired
Chief
Justice
Luke
Malaba
to
State
House
today,”
the
president
wrote.
“In
recognition
of
his
outstanding
service
spanning
decades,
unwavering
commitment,
and
exemplary
legal
leadership
within
the
Zimbabwean
judiciary,
I
presented
him
with
an
agricultural
mechanisation
package
to
facilitate
his
transition
into
post-retirement
life.”
The
package
comprises
a
tractor,
a
Nissan
UD
truck,
a
boom
sprayer,
and
a
planter
“to
facilitate
his
agricultural
pursuits.”
Mnangagwa
added:
“As
he
retires
from
the
judiciary,
I
encourage
him
to
leverage
his
vast
expertise
in
the
agricultural
sector.
Our
land
is
a
vital
asset,
and
productivity
must
persist
at
all
levels.”
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
and
retired
chief
justice
Luke
Malaba
emerge
from
State
House
after
private
talks
on
June
6,
2026
Lawyers
said
that
although
Malaba
had
retired,
accepting
gifts
from
a
president
whose
political
interests
his
court
repeatedly
served
sat
deeply
uncomfortably.
During
his
tenure,
the
judiciary
threw
out
election
petitions
and,
in
a
move
that
accelerated
damaging
divisions
within
the
CCC
opposition
party,
recognised
Sengezo
Tshabangu
as
the
party’s
secretary
general,
a
highly
contentious
determination
that
led
to
the
recall
of
dozens
of
elected
lawmakers.
Advocate
Thabani
Mpofu,
one
of
Zimbabwe’s
most
prominent
lawyers,
was
unsparing
in
his
assessment.
“CJ
Malaba
might
have
saved
Mnangagwa
but
constitutionally,
he
never
served
him.
That’s
why
the
sight
of
him
receiving
a
thank-you
or
service
gift
is
deeply
worrisome,”
Mpofu
said
on
Saturday.
“Justices
are
paid
from
the
common
purse
and
not
from
a
politician’s
back
pocket.
That’s
an
inflexible
tenet
to
be
jealously
guarded
to
the
last
lawyer
standing.”
Mpofu
said
the
legal
consequences
extended
beyond
symbolism.
“The
gift
is
legally
significant
in
that
it
retrospectively
taints
every
pronouncement
that
has
ever
been
made
by
Malaba
for
the
benefit
of
Mnangagwa.
That
is
how
the
law
on
bias
operates.
A
court
order
tainted
by
bias
will,
at
the
application
of
a
concerned
party,
be
set
aside
–
whatever
the
consequences.
Bias,
just
like
fraud,
unravels
everything.”
Mpofu
said
he
intends
to
write
to
Malaba
demanding
the
return
of
the
gifts,
warning
that
legal
action
would
follow
if
the
retired
chief
justice
declined.