MEDIA ADVISORY 12 August 2008
Hear from a refugee High Court Judge
One man in Wellington is uniquely placed to offer insight into the current politics of Zimbabwe and will be sharing his
experiences on August 20 at Victoria University. Benjamin Paradza is a refugee in New Zealand. In 2006 he fled his
position as a High Court judge in Zimbabwe in fear of his life, having been subjected to charges at a trial criticised
internationally as being trumped up to remove him from office.
He has held the Sigrid Rausing Visiting Fellowship at Victoria University for two years from June 2006June 2008.
“The judiciary in Zimbabwe, together with senior levels of the public sector, is watching the current talks about
powersharing with nervousness,” says Paradza. “They fear exposure.” His lecture, titled ‘Capturing’ the judiciary in
Zimbabwe – how it was done and how it might be undone, will detail the mechanisms by which the judiciary was initially
so threatened that many judges resigned or left in fear, and others were then ‘captured’ by combinations of gifts and
threats. “Understanding these processes is crucial to future steps to rebuild a semblance of confidence in the
independence of the judiciary,” says Paradza.
His lecture is on August 20, from 5.306.30pm in Lecture Theatre 2 of Rutherford House in Bunny Street. It is a public
lecture and all are welcome to attend free of charge.
It is organised by Victoria University’s Institute of Policy Studies and the Law School’s New Zealand Centre for Public
Law.
This lecture honours Sigrid Rausing, a Londonbased Swedish philanthropist who supports defenders of human rights
persecuted for their work and who provided the funding for this
Fellowship through the Victoria University Foundation.
ENDS