Enoch Dumbutshena

Enoch Dumbutshena
Chief Justice of Zimbabwe
In office 1984–1990
Personal details
Born	(1920-04-20)20 April 1920 Southern Rhodesia
Died	14 December 2000(2000-12-14) (aged 80) Zimbabwe
Nationality	Zimbabwean
Political party	Forum Party

Enoch Dumbutshena (20 April 1920 – 14 December 2000) was a distinguished Zimbabwean judge known for defending the independence of that country's judicial branch. He became Zimbabwe's first black judge in 1980 and served as Chief Justice of Zimbabwe from 1984 to 1990. Dumbutshena's decisions were often highly critical of President Robert Mugabe and his government. A former member of the International Commission of Jurists, he unsuccessfully attempted to launch a political career of his own in 1993 by founding the free-market Forum Party. He died in late 2000 of liver cancer.

Legal career

He was in private practice in Salisbury and Lusaka until 1980, when he became Zimbabwe's first black High Court Judge. He famously acquitted a group of six white Zimbabwe Air Force officers who had been tortured into confessing to participation in the sabotage of fighter aircraft.

Character

Lord Denning described Dumbutshena J as "a much-respected figure, courageous and independent as a judge should be." He was a member of the African National Congress, and was refused a passport to travel to the US “due to prevailing conditions” in 1959. [Source: “African Journalist Refused Passport to America,” Contact, 18 April 1959.]

References

• "Judge Enoch Dumbutshena dies." The Washington Post 16 Dec. 2000: B.08.