Lawyers challenged

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Human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa has blamed lawyers for shunning human rights cases which had political undertones, saying this had led to recurring disregard of the country’s Constitution.

Human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa has blamed lawyers for shunning human rights cases which had political undertones, saying this had led to recurring disregard of the country’s Constitution.

By Tinotenda Munyukwi

Speaking at the Walter Kamba Rule of Law Lecture hosted by the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) on Friday, Mtetwa urged lawyers to desist from skirting certain politically controversial cases.

“Judges cannot preside over cases that are not brought before them, and as a profession, we have an obligation to take cases to court, particularly those controversial cases, but we are taking fewer of these cases,” she said.

“We are not independent when we refuse to intervene in controversial cases simply because they step on political toes. We should not take political positions which are not in sync with the Constitution. Do not be guided by what political leaders want to hear and let’s bring political cases because that will show that we are independent.”

LSZ president Misheck Hogwe called for the expeditious alignment of all laws to the Constitution.

“We need to align our laws to the Constitution to make sure that the legislation conforms to the Constitution and is consistent with the pursuit of the rule of law,” he said.