Harare, November 05, 2009 – Disgruntled Zimbabwean lawyers have organised a protest march on November 16 and a suspension of all court business on that day to protest against the Attorney Genenal Johannes Tomana’s conduct over the past year.

The lawyers resolved to do this at a meeting in Harare held under the auspices of the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ).

“We are all going to suspend court business and go flood the Harare Magistrate’s Court room 6 where our colleague Mordekai Mahlangu will be going for his remand appearance. It is the general view that the AG has proved that he is not a professional person apart from the political battles that he has been pushing,” said LSZ chairperson Chris Mhike while reading out the meeting’s resolutions.

Mahlangu was arrested earlier this week on allegations of obstructing the course of justice and is out on a US$100 bail. He was remanded to 16 November for a routine remand.
The lawyers had also agreed to write formal letters of complaint to the LSZ’s secretariat about Tomana’s conduct together with the of Director of Public Prosecution, Florence Ziyambi.

“Council will deal with the complaints as soon as they are available. We have collected signatures of members that have been directly affected by the conduct of the AG and that of his officers. We are protesting against what has been happening to our profession ever since Tomana took over as the AG of this country,” he said.
Mhike said the lawyers had also agreed to march from the Rotten Row magistrate court in protest against the AG’s conduct.

Several human right lawyers have been arrested over the past 12 months facing frivolous allegations ranging from the obstruction of justice to extortion by simply demanding what will be due from their clients.

The latest arrest is that of Mahlangu who appeared before Harare Magistrate Munamato Mutevedzi on allegations of defeating the course of justice following a letter he wrote to the Attorney General’s office on behalf of his client Hitchman stating that the Mutare based arms dealer would not testify in court in the MDC treasurer-general Roy Bennett’s matter.
Representing Mahlangu, Cain Ncube and Raymond Moyo notified the court that their client had the right to challenge his placement on remand”at a future date”.
Ncube later told journalists outside the court on Tuesday that the State was alleging that Mahlangu wrote a letter in which stated that Hitschman will not be able to give evidence to charges in the Bennett case.
Mhike said if the harassments continue they would boycott the official opening of the 2010 judicial year at the High Court.

Radio VOP