Fury over Zimbabwe’s plan to spend nearly US$155,000 on judges’ wigs

Lawyers in Zimbabwe have hit out at a government decision to spend thousands of pounds on wigs made in England for local judges, saying the tradition evokes a colonial past that should not exist in modern Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe’s judicial services commission has placed an order for 64 wigs from Stanley Ley Legal Outfitters in London, at a cost of £118,400 (US$154,880).

Zimbabweans reacted with anger on social media, questioning the wisdom of the government’s expenditure at a time when courtrooms are cramped and ill-equipped, the national economy is crumbling and, according to the World Food Programme, 63 per cent of the population live below the poverty line.

Their sentiments were echoed by Dumisani Nkomo, chief executive of Bulawayo-based rights organisation Habakkuk Trust, who said: “These are misplaced priorities. We need to focus on bread and butter issues and avoid expenditure on unnecessary luxuries.”

After poor rains and erratic weather destroyed crops, almost 5.3 million people in Zimbabwe are facing food insecurity; in 2017, the country was ranked 108th out of the 119 included in the global hunger index. The government has previously pledged to cut expenditure in response to rising food prices linked with the introduction of a new currency in February.

Lawyers in Harare said the government was wasting money on keeping a colonial tradition alive.

Beatrice Mtetwa, a senior lawyer in the capital, said Zimbabwe’s British colonial past remained embedded in its justice system.