Row over costly wigs for judiciary

Zimbabwe’s legal authorities have reportedly ordered thousands of dollars worth of judge and barrister’s wigs from a specialist shop in the UK.

Dozens of handmade horsehair wigs, costing up to £2,000 each, have been ordered from one of London’s leading judicial outfitters for the country’s most senior judges.

The £120,000 set aside for them by the legal authorities has drawn accusations of extravagance and insensitivity in a country embroiled in an economic crisis.

Speaking to the Times newspaper Arnold Tsunga, of the International Commission of Jurists, said: “The conditions in Zimbabwe’s courts are dire and yet they can find money for wigs costing thousands of pounds — it’s obnoxious.”