Section 53(g) of the Legal Practitioners Act provides that
the LSZ shall encourage and promote the study of law and jurisprudence.
Last month, a UZ law degree examination paper leaked,
lifting the lid on corruption at the faculty.
Students at the university had previously clashed with
lecturers at the law faculty over the Bachelor of Substantive Laws (BLS), where
the recent exam paper leak was traced to.
Harare police provincial intelligence officer
Superintendent Vigai Maunganidze is out on bail following his arrest after he
was allegedly caught with a leaked UZ
law examination paper.
It is alleged that Maunganidze, who was supposed to sit for
the exam, shared the paper via WhatsApp with Madombi, a Defence ministry
official and third-year BLS student at UZ.
Madombi allegedly shared the examination paper with Zanu PF
director of information Tafadzwa Mugwadi.
LSZ said it was demanding answers over reports of
corruption in the law faculty at UZ.
“The LSZ has not been formally made aware of the alleged
examination leakage at the UZ law faculty,” LSZ corporate communications
officer Richard Chidza said in an emailed response to The Standard on Friday.
“The Society has, however, taken the initiative to write to
the university requesting further information on the alleged leakage and the
extent thereof in order to take an informed position on the issue.”
Section 53(g) of the Legal Practitioners Act which gives
the Law Society of Zimbabwe the statutory objects for its existence provides
that the Society shall encourage and promote the study of law and
jurisprudence.
Under the Legal Practitioners Act, the LSZ regularly visits
law faculties across the country to assess the content and structure as well as
administration of the law degree.
It also inspects their general infrastructure as it relates
to the administration of the law degree.
“The LSZ once favoured with details of the alleged
examination leakage by the university, will be engaging these key stakeholders
to discuss the issue as well as to find lasting solutions that will make sure
the integrity of the profession is protected,” Chidza added.
In April this year, Zanu PF legislator Dexter Nduna, a BLS
student, wrote to the UZ administration protesting the way the BLS programme
was being run.
This was after the BLS programme was moved from being a
part-time programme to full-time studies.
The Standard gathered that BLS students have also engaged
speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda over the matter.
“This letter is written on the advice of the Hounourable
Jacob Mudenda, the speaker of Parliament who has consulted Professor Paul
Mapfumo, the vice chancellor of the UZ on the matter raised therein,” Nduna
wrote in a follow-up letter dated June 22, 2022.
“I therefore ask for consideration by the UZ dean of law
faculty to be indulgent regarding the plight of BLS students who wish to attend
weekend lessons.”
The letter was copied to UZ law faculty dean Innocent Maja,
Mapfumo as well as Mudenda.
“Further to the above, the students could not also attend
lectures for the basic language module which were being held during the week
and were not accorded the opportunity to attend lectures during weekends,”
Nduna wrote.
“Consequently, they could not sit for the basic language
module examinations and have not been able to attend lessons for the
intermediate language module hence I do not foresee them writing the
examination for this module under the present circumstances.
“In this regard, I seek your indulgence on behalf of my
fellow students and colleagues to that effect so that all students can write
the missed BLM examination and have lectures during weekends.
“This is my humble plea.
In 2018, former UZ vice chancellor Levy Nyagura was
arrested on charges of abusing his authority to award former first lady Grace
Mugabe a PHD degree in 2014. Standard
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