By Auxilia Katongomara
A BULAWAYO magistrate has openly confessed that he has engaged in corruption and blamed this to what he described as poor working conditions.
Mr Batanai Tuwe who tendered his resignation letter last week on Monday tweeted blasting the Judicial Service Commission for allegedly giving him a raw deal.
He resigned to join private practice and is serving notice until February 28.
In this Twitter rant, Mr Tuwe blamed his poor salary for making him corrupt.
“All the magistrates are tired of your lies. God is not happy though because you killed my dream. I swore an oath to God when I was appointed. You made me corrupt.”
“Why should any magistrate send a person who earns $1 200 to jail when they can offer the magistrate $600 and still have more than the magistrate? A magistrate in Zimbabwe earns $650 dollars,” he tweeted.
“I cannot serve that which I no longer believe. I just want to feel human. That’s all.”
Mr Tuwe queried why civil servants do not tell the President (Cde Mugabe) the truth about their working conditions.
“Why not tell mdara (President Mugabe) the truth. Why won’t soldiers, who earn $400, tell the President that the money you are giving us is peanuts,” he tweeted.
However, yesterday, Mr Tuwe made a U-turn on his tirade before deleting his Twitter account.
“I apologise to my fellow magistrates for harming their reputation as well. I was by no means inferring you are corrupt. Apologies,” he tweeted.
“I realise I may have inadvertently offended my elders and the JSC and judges due to frustration. I did not intend to do that. I apologise.”
“As a show of courtesy and respect I have deleted those tweets. Sometimes frustration makes u (sic) disrespectful. It was not my intention I’m sorry,” tweeted Mr Tuwe who is still serving notice and indicated he would be reporting for duty.
“Off to work. I must be honourable and serve my notice period and not act on frustration. Hope everyone has a pleasant day. Much Love,” he tweeted.
He was sworn in as a magistrate in 2014 and has been stationed at Tredgold Magistrate’s Court since then.
Mr Tuwe was a lawyer at Shumba and Partners Legal Practitioners in Harare before he joined the bench. The Chronicle
