Police had earlier this week banned the march on the pretext that it was scheduled during the peak hour and they had not enough manpower to provide for an escort.
The lawyers however decided after a brief meeting at a city hotel, to proceed with the march, risking being arrested.
Upon arrival at the ministers’ office a number of riot police were waiting at the entrance but no one was attcked.
Some of the lawyers carried placards with messages such as: Stop the Abductions Now, Rule of Law not Rule by Law and Judicial Independence not Judicial Dependence.
Law Society of Zimbabwe councilor Chirs Mhike later addressed the lawyers who gathered just outside the New Government Complex.
Its unfortunate the minister (Chinamasa) is not in his office on Tuesday (today) as well as his deputy minister (Jessie Majome) because we would wanted one of them to address us. We have left the petitions with their respective secretaries, said Mhike.
He said the legal profession should be treated with the respect it deserves.
The protest march comes in the wake of the arrest of human right lawyer Alec Muchadehama last week on charges of obstructing the course of justice.
The lawyers also noted the arrest in March of Kwekwe based lawyer Melina Matshiya, a senior partner at Wilmot and Bennett Legal
Practitioners. In the supplementary petition dropped on Tuesday the lawyers chronicled how Matshiya was harassed while carrying out her duties.
The petition revealed that sometime in March Matshiyas client, a white commercial farmer in an eviction case, collapsed during court
proceedings due to high blood pressure complications.
Matshiya then applied for the postponement of the matter but the public prosecutor opposed the application and the magistrate issued a
warrant of arrest against the white farmer. Subsequently, Matshiya applied for a review of the matter by the High Court and also applied for a stay of prosecution against her client.
Upon serving the application upon the relevant magistrate, on the 5th of April 2009, Matshiya was arrested and detained for several hours by police n charges of obstructing the course of justice, reads part of the petition.
Matshiya was prosecuted at the Gweru Magistrates Court but the presiding magistrate granted the application for refusal of remand.
The lawyers pray for an assurance from the minister and the Zimbabwe Republic Police that the independence of the legal profession shall be upheld in Zimbabwe–CAJ News
Post published in: Politics