ZIMBABWE’S JUDICIARY IN CRISIS AS FAKE COURT JUDGMENT ROCKS HIGH COURT
A new scandal has hit Zimbabwe’s already tainted justice system. This time, it involves High Court Justice Never Katiyo, who is accused of issuing a fraudulent court judgment before the case was even heard. The case at the centre of the storm involves a property dispute between Bulgarian state-owned firm Technoimpex JSC and Harare businessman Rajendrakumar Jogi. What makes this case extraordinary is the blatant disregard for legal process — a judgment was signed and stamped by the court before the matter had even been argued.
The judgment, dated 28 July 2025, discharges a provisional order and strikes the matter off the roll. Yet the actual hearing is only scheduled for 15 September. To legal observers, this isn’t just an administrative mistake — it’s a red flag pointing to deep-rooted corruption. Even worse, the ruling falsely claims that renowned lawyer Advocate Thabani Mpofu appeared in court and made submissions. He did not. It also lists lawyers D. Sanhanga and L. Uriri as representing the other parties. Again, false.
Mpofu was stunned. In a formal letter to the Registrar of the High Court, he wrote: “It is obviously not true that I appeared before his lordship and made those submissions. In my view, the judgment is totally made up.” He went on to say that this was not the first time Justice Katiyo had attributed words to him that he never spoke. That is more than carelessness — it’s deception.
Law firm Sinyoro and Partners, who represent Technoimpex, first discovered the fraudulent judgment. They wrote immediately to Mpofu for clarification, and then confronted Justice Katiyo directly. Shockingly, the judge insisted that all the mentioned lawyers had indeed appeared before him. That lie pushed the firm to escalate the matter to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC).
In their letter to the JSC secretary Walter Chikwana, dated 31 July 2025, the lawyers didn’t hold back. “We are seriously concerned that the improprieties involved sail perilously close to criminality,” they wrote. “The judge’s insistence that there was an appearance before him when it is objectively impossible is gravely worrisome… The discharge of the protection accorded our client without a hearing is by design. It is a response to due process which was seen as an impediment.”
These are not casual accusations. They point to a justice system that is no longer merely broken — it is being actively weaponized. The letter was also copied to Chief Justice Luke Malaba, High Court Judge President Mary Zimba-Dube, and the Law Society of Zimbabwe. This shows the seriousness of the issue. It is not about one rogue judge. It is about a growing culture of impunity at the highest levels of Zimbabwe’s courts.
Even more disturbing is that this is not the first time Justice Katiyo has issued a judgment on issues that were never argued. That pattern suggests something far more dangerous — that judgments are being written in advance to serve political or financial interests. In a country already suffocating under ZANU PF’s stranglehold on every institution, a compromised judiciary is not just a legal crisis; it is a national emergency.
Foreign investors are watching. Human rights defenders are watching. And so are Zimbabweans who still dare to believe in justice. What happens next will either show that Zimbabwe still has a chance to restore the rule of law, or that the courts are now just another tool for those in power to crush opposition, silence voices, and reward their friends.
Either way, the people will not forget. Justice delayed is dangerous — but justice corrupted is deadly.
