President Emmerson Mnangagwa has granted a full pardon to former High Court judge Benjamin Paradza, who was convicted on corruption charges and sentenced to two years in prison before fleeing the country in 2006.
The pardon was announced by Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi in a Government Gazette published on May 23. The notice reads:
It is hereby notified that His Excellency the President has in terms of section 112(1)(a) and (b) of the constitution, made an order granting pardon for Mr Benjamin Paradza in respect of his conviction (Case Number CRB 152/2004) on two counts of corruption on the 9th January, 2006, by the High Court of Zimbabwe sitting at Harare.
Paradza, who was admitted to the New Zealand Bar in 2011, is reportedly suffering from a terminal illness. His family has been lobbying the government to allow him to return home.
According to ZimLive, a source familiar with the discussions said Paradza is elderly, in poor health, and a war veteran—circumstances that, they argue, warrant family care and support in Zimbabwe. Added the source:
If he returns home with that conviction hanging over his head it means he has to be immediately arrested, and it would be actually be expensive to incarcerate him because of his medical needs.
Paradza was prosecuted after he approached Justices Maphios Cheda, George Chiweshe, and Lawrence Kamocha, seeking the release of a passport belonging to his business associate, Russell Wayne Labuschagne, who was facing murder charges.
Justice Cheda secretly recorded Paradza saying Labuschagne needed to travel to a professional hunting convention in the United States.
Labuschagne, later sentenced to 15 years by Justice Kamocha for the killing of a man who trespassed on his Kariba fish farm, was expected to help secure a US$60,000 deal for Paradza’s company, Circle G, part of the Midland Black Rhino Conservancy in Kwekwe.
Cheda also testified that a man named Mr. Anand attempted to bribe him over the matter.
Paradza denied wrongdoing, claiming he merely asked the judges to consider Labuschagne’s application to vary his bail conditions.
He later alleged the case was politically motivated, saying he was targeted for delivering rulings unfavorable to the government.
More: ZimLive
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