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Daniel Nemukuyu  Senior Court Reporter

THE Judicial Service Commission has today conducted public interviews to select a new Chief Justice after appealing a decision of the High Court setting aside the selection process.

Judge President George Chiweshe did not attend the interviews resulting in the commission interviewing three candidates for the post, Justices Paddington Garwe, Rita Makarau and Deputy Chief Justice Luke Malaba.

Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku started by disclosing the number of judgments delivered by the candidates in the past four years with Judge President Chiweshe having delivered a total of five.

Out of Justice Chiweshe’s five judgments in four years, two were published in the Zimbabwe Law Reports.

He handed down three judgments in 2013, one in 2014, none in 2015 and one this year.

Deputy Chief Justice Malaba, during the same period stretching from 2013 to 2016, handed down 50 judgments, of which 15 were reportable in the Zimbabwe Law Reports.

Justice Makarau, who has not been attending courts since 2013, was measured for the period she was Judge president between 2007 and 2010.

She delivered 88 judgments of which 52 were reported in the Zimbabwe Law Reports.

Justice Garwe, between 2013 and this year handed down 34 judgments, of which 14 were reportable.

The first one to be interviewed was Justice Garwe, followed by Justice Makarau. The two were grilled for an average of two-and half hours each.

Details to follow…….