Zimbabwe judge resists pressure

President Mugabe has repeatedly rejected Supreme Court rulings

Zimbabwe's chief justice is resisting government pressure to leave his job early and is now saying he may reconsider his planned retirement in June.

The Zimbabwean Government ordered the country's chief justice to leave his job on Wednesday, several months before he had reportedly agreed to do so anyway under heavy pressure.

But a lawyer for Anthony Gubbay, who is white, and is accused by the government of serving the interests of the white minority, said he had been instructed "to oppose the unlawful demands made by the minister of justice".

"The chief justice will not vacate his chambers and his official residence," said lawyer Moidechai Mahlangu.

"In the light of the unexpected and unwelcome developments the chief justice will be reconsidering the question of his early retirement," he added.

The Supreme Court has made several rulings against the government on the question of land reform and electoral laws which have provoked the wrath of the authorities.

At the weekend, South African President Thabo Mbeki said the attacks on Zimbabwe's judiciary and press were "matters of very serious concern" and he said he planned to meet President Robert Mugabe soon.

Second thoughts

Earlier this month, Mr Gubbay - who is white - was visited by the justice minister and told to quit amid threats of violence against judges from government supporters.

The chief justice was to have been on leave for four months

Mr Gubbay agreed to step down at the end of June after a period of enxtended leave.

However, two of his colleagues have resisted the pressure to resign and Mr Gubbay seems to have been bolstered by the stand taken by lawyers and by his fellow judges.

Many of Zimbabwe's lawyers, who are mostly black, back the judges, arguing that they have merely done their job of upholding the law and the constitution.

They blame Robert Mugabe's government for causing this constitutional crisis by refusing to obey a string of court orders in recent years.

The government believes that if it can change the composition of the Supreme Court, it will have a free hand to pursue its programme of land reform and possibly to pass favourable laws in the run-up to presidential elections due next year.

Constitutional crisis

The justice minister has ordered Mr Gubbay to vacate his official residence. He has also declared that the government will not recognise any court hearings he presides over after 1 March.

However, judges are appointed by the president but can only be fired by a special tribunal if they are found guilty of misconduct.

That could be a lengthy process, and the tribunal may find that Mr Gubbay and the other judges have done nothing wrong.

This is why the government is instead trying to put so much psychological pressure on the judges that they agree to step down.

It is believed that the authorities have already lined up a new chief justice, and if Mr Gubbay refuses to go quietly, the confusion which already exists in Zimbabwe's legal system will get worse.