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Justice Chidyausiku

Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Reporter
The Roman Catholic Church will on Friday hold a mass for Retired Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku at Chishawasha Mission ahead of his burial at the National Heroes Acre on Saturday. Speaking after a church service held yesterday evening at the Chidyausiku family home in Highlands, the Master of Ceremonies and Chaplain General of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces Colonel Joseph Nyakudya said the body will leave Harare at 10am heading to Chishawasha for the mass.

The mass, according to Col Nyakudya, will start at 11am at the mission grounds to accommodate the masses.

On the same day, the body of the national hero will be ferried back to Harare where it will lie in state at the family’s Highlands home. On Saturday morning, the body will be taken to Stodart Hall in Mbare for body viewing, before proceeding to the national shrine for burial.

Justice Chidyausiku died on Wednesday last week, in South Africa, after battling with kidney and liver problems.

His body was flown to Zimbabwe on Saturday afternoon.

President Mugabe on Sunday announced the national hero status on the jurist based on his contribution to the maintenance of Zimbabwe’s sovereignty through positive judgements.

Justice Chidyausiku retired from the bench on March 1 this year, after serving as head of the judiciary for 16 years.

He was appointed as Zimbabwe’s Chief Justice in July 2001.

Born on February 23, 1947 in Domboshava, Chief Justice Chidyausiku attended Mutake School at Makumbi Mission, and then St Ignatius College in Chishawasha.

He got a place at the then University of Rhodesia from 1968 to 1972 where he studied law. He then went into private legal practice.

At the 1974 general election, Justice Chidyausiku won the Harare African Roll Constituency, standing with the unofficial support of the African National Council which had been set up by Zanu, Zapu and Frolizi.

He acted in opposition to the government of Ian Douglas Smith.

Justice Chidyausiku stood down at the 1977 election.

He was Deputy Minister in the then Ministry of Local Government and Housing and of Justice from 1980, and was promoted to be Attorney-General in 1982.

Chief Justice Chidyausiku was later promoted to be a judge and served as chair of the constitutional convention charged with drafting a new Constitution for Zimbabwe in 2000.

After the resignation of former Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay, Chief Justice Chidyausiku was named as Zimbabwe’s new Chief Justice in July 2001.