Luke Malaba

Luke Malaba (born 1951) is a Zimbabwean judge currently serving as the Chief Justice of Zimbabwe. He was appointed Chief Justice by then-President Robert Mugabe on 27 March 2017. However, he had already been serving as acting Chief Justice since 1 March 2017, following Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku‘s retirement. Previously, he had served as Deputy Chief Justice.^[1]

Biography

Luke Malaba was born in 1951. He received his law degree from the University of Warwick in 1974, and another law degree from the University of Zimbabwe in 1982. From 1981 to 1984, he served as a prosecutor in Bulawayo. He started his career as a magistrate in 1984 at Masvingo. He attained the rank of regional magistrate in 1990. He was appointed as a judge of the High Court in 1994, serving until 2001. He was elevated to the Supreme Court in August 2001, and became the country’s first Deputy Chief Justice in 2008.^[1]

Chief Justice of Zimbabwe

Following the retirement of Godfrey Chidyausiku, Malaba was appointed Acting Chief Justice on 1 March 2017. During interviews to become the Chief Justice, he scored 92 percent, achieving the highest score of those interviewed. He assumed the office on 27 March 2017.^[1] In July 2018, Malaba ruled that former President Robert Mugabe had freely resigned, and was not coerced.^[2] The Chief Justice, in a unanimous supreme court decision in August 2018, concurred with the other eight justices of the court, in a ruling that president Emmerson Mnangagwa's July 2018 election was lawfully conducted, and had "complied with prescribed procedures", dismissing the political opposition's claims to the contrary.^[3]

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