Is Zimbabwe a Mafia State that Ramaphosa is playing Chief Enabler? Upholding the Rule of Law in Africa: A Call to Action for JUROL Members

Mr. Antonius Clarke, President of the Justice Under Rule of Law (JUROL) who is based in Canada, said the information that has been mined and shared by JUROL members especially relating to the reality that SA judges with impunity will recognize and enforce a law that offends public policy is not only chilling but exposes the risk that SA under President exposes to the future of Africa.

He said: “I had no idea that even SA citizens are not safe from attack by victims of a law like the Mnangagwap-authored and prosecuted Reconstruction of State-Indebted Involved Act that was preceded by a Presidential decree that was orchestrated as an intentional corrupt scheme to divest and deprive an African of Zimbabwean heritage who according to Mnangagwa’s lawyer had upset Mnangagwa for exposing corruption in relation to Mnangagwa’s unorthodox ascendancy to be the President of Zimbabwe.

I and many persons who wish Zimbabwe well and had hitherto not understood why even President Biden is against pressure to remove targeted sanctions imposed in 2001 before Mnangagwa under the presumed watch of the late Mugabe as the BOSS, was already the de facto President with the audacity to write and execute an elaborate corporate coup with implications that went unnoticed by the world including US administrations in succession since 2001.

On 21 March 2021, Mnangagwa’s lawyer and Chairman of the Advisory Council, and surprisingly a practicing attorney, is a close front of the award-winning journalist by the name Mr. Hopewell Chin’ono who in this picture was with Mr. Manikai in Harare when Senators including the former Senator Flake, the key author of ZIDERA, visited Zimbabwe:

Manikai is in the middle. I had no idea that Edwin Manikai, together with Mr. Canaan Dube and Selby Hwacha credit themselves for creating and financing the firm, Dube Manikai & Hwacha (DMH Attorneys) when in truth and fact absent Mutumwa Mawere’s involvement in the context of his acquisition of SMM Holdings Private Limited (SMM), a company whose sole parent was acquired by his wholly owned subsidiary, Africa Resources Limited (ARL) in March 1996 in an audacious financial leveraged acquisition of SMM Holdings Limited (SMMH), a private company registered in terms of the law of the UK.

My Zimbabwean friend told me that the first office of DMH Attorneys was a donation given at the direct instigation to build corporate legal services capacity in Zimbabwe using SMM and related companies as the foundation of transitioning black legal services providers to the corporate market that was hitherto dominated by white and foreign law firms and actors.

I am angry that Manikai who was involved in the corrupt Smoothnest deal linked to the ZANU-PF factional Tsholotsho abortive succession project involving Chinamasa, Manikai, Gwaradzimba etc as actors in pushing for the outcome that would have seen Mngagagwa, a Karanga by ethnicity, stepping to the shoes of the late Vice President Mjuzenda as Vice President of ZANU-PF and the government.

I only learned recently in the context of being a paid-up member of JUROL that this plot failed but Manikai’s context of his shareholding and directorship of Smoothnest Investments Private Limited (Smoothnest) seems to be the source of the attack on Mawere using public power and not the factional battle for ascendancy as Manikai falsely peddled to Frederick Mutanda in his message in response to the outrageous reality of the worst abuse of public power that saw Gwaradzimba using his status as SMM’s extrajudicially appointed Administrator to confiscate, financially use Mr. Mawere’s personal house to Gwaradzimba’s personal benefit for 17 years with no benefit to the house owner.

There is more information that is hidden in court records that the JUROL INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM (JIJ) team has uncovered that exposes the link between the Mugabe coup of 2017 and the SMM coup of 2004.

As I read with concern that Ramaphosa contemptuously refused, failed, and failed to take any steps to inquire into the bizarre facts and circumstances that would permit the rights acquired in relation to SMM, a group of companies, registered in terms of the Companies Act of Zimbabwe, being not only dismembered by a team led by Mnangagwa that included Manikai, Gwaradzimba and many actors that were also involved in the Mugabe coup, my sense of active citizenship to ensure that public power is used in the public interest so as to build a solid proposition for sanctions to be removed.

With what I now know about Mnangagwa, I do not believe that under his watch sanctions should be removed because it would appear that he is not only unaccountable but knowing that he got away with conduct that is inconsistent with the rule of law in South Africa, it is shocking that he would have the audacity to nakedly expose himself in judicial proceedings in South Africa premised on the validity and legality of the authority to litigate and engage the services of prestigious law firm firms like Ens Africa Inc and DLA-Piper (RF) SA Inc, could be done in relation to SMM’s affairs, a company whose control and management was divested and deprived on the fraudulent basis advanced in the name of Mnangagwa and his buddy, the former Minister of Justice, Legal & Parliamentary Affairs who could not find any refuge from existing laws governing the affairs of SMM without resorting to a draconian approach involving the use of a drecree to find authority to appoint a purported Chartered Accountant in the name of Afaras Mtausi Gwaradzimba to voluntarily to the hatched job for the last 19 years.

This guy and Manikai are still practicing as professionals in Zimbabwe which goes a long way towards exposing that absent institutions like JUROL, this kind of corruption and barbarism will continue unabated.

It is baffling and alarming that the people of Zimbabwe have been eloquent in their silence including members of the opposition in helping expose that even under sanctions, Mnangagwa who has openly admitted that he is BOSS in relation to the affairs of SMM, will never be stopped and the rule of law will never have space to breathe hence my decision to be the change that is missing in removing this cancer that is a roadblock to Zimbabwe and Africa’s inclusive and equitable prosperous future.

My reasoning is simple. This abuse can happen to SMM and the fate of 26 companies and 20,000 employees not counting the collateral damages that can happen after the end of apartheid in 1884, then who really is safe, and should South Africa be trusted under a President like Ramaphosa to protect and promote a future of Africa in which a President of Zimbabwe prides himself of is defiant and boisterous that if SA Courts have assisted him in recognizing and enforcing the law and its consequences that offend SA public policy and international law, then the US government whose targeted sanctions have been condemned by the AU and SADC member states, no one can bank on a future of Africa in which the discretionary exercise of public power is characterized by domestically enforced practices, conduct, custom and laws that are consistent with the promise of accountability.

I am encouraged that a JUROL Ai has the following message to share with members of JUROL that read as follows:

“This message is brought to you as a wake-up call Introduction: The African I WANT initiative envisions Afra as a bank in which the future architecture is built upon the principles of the rule of law. As a retired judge and a proponent of the rule of law, I urge all JUROL members to take action in shaping Africa’s legal landscape. In this article, we will explore the implications of deviating from the rule of law and the need to resist granting authority to individuals appointed without due process. Let us join hands to ensure justice, fairness, and constitutional protection for all.

1. The Authority Question: As a retired judge, it is my duty to analyze the authority of individuals in legal proceedings. In the case of Gwaradzimba and SMM, it is evident that his appointment as a representative was not in accordance with due process or judicial oversight. Therefore, recognizing his authority would be a departure from the principles of the rule of law.
2. Denying Vindication and Implications: Granting a judgment that overtly denies vindication against the beneficiary raises serious concerns. It undermines the essence of justice and sends a message that the rule of law does not apply universally. Such a judgment erodes public confidence in the judiciary and fosters a climate of impunity. We must prioritize the protection of individual rights and the fair application of the law.
3. Creating a New Crime: The conduct of Gwaradzimba, aided by the South African courts, would effectively create a new crime without constitutional protection. Violating the rule of law undermines the fundamental principles upon which our legal systems are built. This breach not only jeopardizes justice but also erodes the constitutional safeguards designed to protect individuals and ensure a just society.

Conclusion: To the JUROL members and fellow lawmen, I implore you to stand firm in upholding the rule of law. Granting authority to individuals appointed without due process jeopardizes the principles of justice and fairness. Let us champion the cause of the rule of law, ensuring that every action we take in legal proceedings aligns with the constitutional protections and safeguards that define our societies. Together, we can shape Africa’s future as a beacon of justice, where the rule of law is the order of the day.”