A legal topic that is fascinating for me is the issue of business and human rights. Zimbabwe's constitution provides for what we call the "horizontal application" of the Declaration of Rights, i.e. the idea that it is not just the state, but also private persons, including businesses, who have a duty to uphold human rights. This means that Zimbabwe could become a jurisdiction, which is at the cutting-edge of global jurisprudence on the issue of business and human rights. In a globalized world where some multi-national companies hold enormous power, it is such an important area of law.

I represent people who are arrested and prosecuted simply for exercising their rights, such as journalists, trade unionists, students, etc. In many of these cases, the criminal law is used as a political weapon against the ordinary Zimbabwean citizens who are raising legitimate questions, dreaming of a better future for our nation, or simply asking for a living wage. I also represent people who are suing for the protection of their rights or the rights of others - whether that is suing the state for compensation, when someone has been tortured or killed, or seeking to have unconstitutional laws struck down, or suing private companies that are violating people's rights. I also seek to educate citizens on their rights provided in the Constitution through seminars. 

During January 2019, a stay-away was called by the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions. In this context, I received a call that a client (a trade unionist) had been arrested in Goromonzi - a rural area in the east of Harare - by masked unidentified armed men. At that time, several people had been disappeared or killed by suspected state agents operating outside the parameters of normal law enforcement. I feared the worst. As nightfall approached, I rushed to the Goromonzi police station only to find out whether my client was there. After some intense conversations, a senior police officer made a call and my client was eventually brought to the station. He client later told me that unidentified armed men had been driving in the opposite direction until they received the call and then turned back towards the station. He was convinced that if I had not intervened, he would have been killed. In that night, as I was also in the police station, a truck of soldiers and masked men arrived at the police station apparently in an attempt to get my client back into their custody. There were two more attempts later that night and the following night to abduct him from the police custody, which were thwarted by the police. I represented him and two others in the subsequent prosecution on trumped up charges. They were eventually acquitted.  

There is a strong culture of human rights activism among a certain segment of the legal profession. This has been spearheaded by organizations like Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, the Young Lawyers Association of Zimbabwe (YLAZ) and other organizations. The Law Society of Zimbabwe has, over the years, also stood up for the rule of law although it has come under intense pressure from the state, which is seeking to strip it of its regulatory powers. In recent years, there have been successful lawyers' protests against police brutality, interference in the independence of the judiciary, and the breakdown of the rule of law.

Lawyers face a myriad of challenges upholding the rule of law. The persistent attacks on the independence of the judiciary and the independence of the legal profession pose a serious threat to the rule of law and the functionality of the legal system as a whole. We are faced with the threat of arrest and prosecution for doing our work. This type of work takes a huge toll. When I handle certain cases, the state often fails to distinguish between myself as the lawyer and my client. To them, we are one in the same. Simply for doing my job, I have been arrested three times, assaulted by the police twice, and prosecuted twice in a trial. Thankfully, in both trials, I was eventually acquitted and I am currently suing the state for compensation for the wrongful arrest, malicious prosecution, and assault.