BULAWAYO – President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed a three-member tribunal “to inquire into the question of removal from office” of Justice Thompson James Mabhikwa of the Bulawayo High Court on allegations of “sexual harassment” and “possession of pornographic material.”

In a proclamation this week Mnangagwa said retired judge Maphios Cheda will chair the panel, assisted by lawyers Chaka Mashoko and Phillipa Magnify Phillips.

Mabhikwa, appointed to the bench in 2017, found himself the subject of an investigation by the Judicial Service Commission after images allegedly of his penis and raunchy test messages with his girlfriends were sent from his phone to several contacts, including a judges WhatsApp group.

It is understood the messages were sent by Oratile Nare, a young assistant of Justice Maxwell Takuva, also a judge at the Bulawayo High Court.

Nare was apparently furious after gaining access into the judge’s phone as he slept and discovering that he was dating a string of other women.

Section 6 or 7 of the Judicial Code of Ethics require judicial officers to ensure that their conduct “in and outside court is above reproach in the view of reasonable, fair-minded and informed persons.”

Judges are also obliged to “avoid impropriety and the appearance of improper behaviour in all of his or her activities, in and outside court, and shall avoid any conduct that may result in bringing the judiciary into disrepute.”

In his proclamation, Mnangagwa said the Cheda panel should investigate whether Justice Mabhikwa’s conduct “can be deemed to have been tantamount to gross misconduct.”

The panel should also “investigate whether or not the Honourable Justice Mabhikwa (a) committed acts of sexual harassment (b) possessed pornographic material… and to investigate any other matter which the tribunal may deem appropriate and relevant to the question of removal from office of a judge in terms of the law.”

The panel must report the findings of its inquiry to Mnangagwa within three months with a recommendation “on whether the Honourable Judge is fit to hold office.”

Justice Mabhikwa is widowed after his wife died in December last year.