BULAWAYO – High Court judge Justice Erica Ndewere was fired by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday, hours after a tribunal recommended her removal from the bench citing “gross incompetence.”

Ndewere was suspended last November after the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) accused her of “misconduct and conduct inconsistent with being a judicial officer,” prompting Mnangagwa to appoint a three-member panel to investigate.

Weeks earlier, the judge had earned praise and scorn alike after granting MDC Alliance deputy chairperson Job Sikhala bail following his arrest on allegations of inciting violence.

The JSC, led by embattled Chief Justice Luke Malaba, said Ndewere had failed to “deliver reserved judgments within the prescribed 90 days… thereby failing to meet the expected judicial standards of a judge.”

It also accused her of failing to apply due diligence when she reversed a custodial sentence of a thief, Kenneth Majecha, saying the convicting magistrate should have considered community service as punishment because the accused was a first-time wrongdoer when in fact Majecha was a repeat offender with three prior convictions.

Justice Ndewere fought back, telling the tribunal that she was being victimized for releasing Sikhala and defying unlawful orders from Malaba.

She also denied sitting on a backlog of cases saying, “I completed all my work within the three-month period as required and did not have 28 outstanding reviews and six reserved judgments on May 18, 2020, as alleged… I was singled out for victimization out of a list of 17 judges with outstanding judgments, even though I had no outstanding judgments on the date I was charged and suspended.”

Still, her defense fell short.

The tribunal, led by Justice Simbi Mubako, found her guilty and recommended her termination to Mnangagwa early Thursday.

Hours later, cabinet and presidential chief secretary Misheck Sibanda issued a statement saying she had been removed immediately.

Sibanda said: “The tribunal has recommended that Honourable Justice Ndewere be removed from office for gross incompetence. His Excellency, the President has accordingly, in terms of Section 187 (8) of the Constitution, removed Honourable Justice Erica Ndewere from office with immediate effect.”

Ndewere becomes the second judge to be fired by Mnangagwa after Supreme Court judge Justice Francis Bere who was relieved of his duties last October for “gross misconduct.”

A third judge Justice Thompson James Mabhikwa of the Bulawayo High Court is now in the crosshairs after Mnangagwa appointed a panel led by retired judge Maphios Cheda this week to investigate him for “sexual harassment” and “possession of pornographic material.”

Mabhikwa got into trouble after graphic images of his alleged penis and sexually explicit messages with his girlfriends were sent out to various contacts via WhatsApp including judges, by a subordinate lover after discovering the judge was cheating.