President Mugabe @ 92: Working with a strong character

07 Feb, 2016 - 00:02 0 Views
President Mugabe @ 92: Working with a strong character

The Sunday Mail

Justice George Smith

President Mugabe and Justice Smith at State House in 2015

President Mugabe and Justice Smith at State House in 2015

I went to the University of Cape Town, and got my BA, LLB (degrees) (1951-55). In 1956, I joined the Federal Attorney-General’s Office, and worked there until the federation was dissolved in December 1963. In January 1964, I was transferred to the Southern Rhodesia Attorney-General’s Office.
I worked my way up until 1979 when I was director of legal drafting and Solicitor-General.
Although I worked with Ian Smith, I wasn’t in the Cabinet Office.
I was involved, being in the Attorney-General’s Office and being chief draftsman. So, I went along for any talks that were involved as I was the legal person. I remember going up to Zambia at one time to have talks with (Dr Joshua) Nkomo. I was also involved with talks with Muzorewa over six or nine months which resulted in the agreement on the new Constitution that I drafted, that Ian Smith was happy with.
That led to elections in 1979.
I was then transferred to the Cabinet Office as Secretary to the Prime Minister (Bishop Abel Muzorewa).
The new Prime Minister wanted a new Secretary to the Cabinet because the previous one had been with Ian Smith for a number of years, and the Public Service Commission recommended me.
Ian Smith fixed up for Muzorewa to go and see (US president) Jimmy Carter and (British PM) Maggy Thatcher to explain to them that there had been elections.
Blacks voted, there were around 900 000 voters.
There was freedom and no intimidation.
So, I went up to Washington with Muzorewa to meet Jimmy Carter, and then to London to meet Maggy Thatcher.
And (British foreign secretary Lord) Carrington said, “Well, there would have to be talks, leading up to the British accepting elections. You must come up to London in September ’79.”
Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo would also be invited. He doubted whether they would come, but if they came, they would have to be involved.
They did come and the talks lasted from mid-September to December. That then led to the appointment of Soames as the Governor.
The talks marked my first time coming face-to-face with President Mugabe.
My impression of him was that unlike Muzorewa who was not a strong personality, President Mugabe was very strong, determined. He knew what he wanted, and insisted that this is what must be done, also insisting how it must be done.
He felt that the Zanu-Zapu element had not been involved in the elections, and they should definitely be involved.
That’s why he felt that the Rhodesia-Zimbabwe Defence Forces would have to be restrained, with Zanu-Zapu being allowed to come into Zimbabwe and effectively giving a presence to the people and everything else for the general election.
Muzorewa didn’t really stand up to him, and eventually, Carrington said, “Okay, we will do that.”
I was asked to draft the 1980 Constitution with the British people and that’s what happened.
Soames came out as Governor; I was in charge of the civil service.
Soames presided until the 1980 elections which President Mugabe won and became Prime Minister.
In the Cabinet Office, President Mugabe asked me if I would stay on as Secretary to the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which I did from 1980 to 1983.
We had a very good relationship.
From the time I started – after I left university – I had been working in Government departments. So, my commitment for the whole of my career has been to work for the country.
That’s why I was in the Attorney-General’s Office, Secretary to the Prime Minister and Cabinet, and judge and that sort of thing. I have been doing public work all my life. So, when President Mugabe won the election, I didn’t feel that I wanted to go off. I was following my commitment to work for the Government of the country. That’s why I agreed to go on with him. I also felt that he knew what he was doing.
He was a strong character, therefore, I felt he would be a good Prime Minister. (My view was informed by) just the way he conducted himself at the Lancaster House talks.
He wasn’t provocative or anything like that. He just made it clear what he felt his views were and what had to be done.
He was quite prepared to discuss it and work with others; that this was what he thought was the right thing to do.
Like the tradition was (in the Cabinet Office), every morning at half past eight, officials from the Ministries of Information and Foreign Affairs would come and have a meeting with the Prime Minister to tell him what was going on in the local media and what was happening with foreign affairs. There would be a CIO person in there, listening to them. When they were all finished, I would stay on with him to discuss any issues he wanted assistance with; that he wanted me to do.
Then I would go back to my office and carry on with the work, and he would go and do his duties.
But as I said, virtually every day, we met for at least an hour, an hour-and-a-half in the morning – just what was happening and all that. Then if there was anything particular he wanted me to do, I would do. So, we had a very good relationship.
I remember there was one occasion; one night I had a phone call.
It was President Mugabe saying that he wanted to give a talk about “the old order changeth, giving place to the new”, and was I able to give him the full quotation. I had a book of quotations.
I looked it up and phoned him back and told him this is what the full quotation was.
He felt that much; that we were together; that when he wanted this, he would phone me at half past eight at night and ask me for something like that.
So, we had a very good relationship.
He was a strong character. He knew what he thought was best for the country and was determined that was what should be done.
He wasn’t going to be diverted from what he thought were the best issues because of pressure from this government or that government.
He felt that he was responsible for the administration, running the development of Zimbabwe.
That’s what he was committed to do.
He told me that this is what must be done; that we must get more indigenous people into the Government.
And he would often discuss with me the people he thought were the right ones. I would look at the papers and agree with him (on particular individuals). He would consider my views and then make a decision he thought was the right one.
He was prepared to listen to me, and I obviously had to listen to him.
But he often asked my views on all different aspects because of my previous experience in Government.
So, we had a very good relationship.
In January 1984, I was appointed Judge of the High Court, and I remained as a judge for 19-and-a-half years.
When you are a lawyer in the Attorney-General’s Office and become a judge, you feel that is a promotion.
Instead of just being on the legal side, you are now administering the law, saying this part of the law is wrong; this is what I think it should be.
So, I thought it was a good challenge and I enjoyed that sort of work. Although I enjoyed being in the Cabinet Office, I wasn’t doing much legal work.
The President had asked me whether I would accept appointment to (the court) and I said yes.
After all the years of being a legal practitioner, I was very happy to get on the bench. I became Judge of the High Court, President of the Income Tax Appeals, Fiscal Appeal Court.
(All the while, our relationship remained good) because seven or eight years ago, he appointed me as a member of the board of the Reserve Bank. He appointed me as member of the Health Services Board. And then last year, he appointed me as Chairman of this Commission on Pensions, Transition Funds (Zimbabwe Dollars to US Dollars).
So, obviously, he’s got confidence that I’m prepared to act in the interest of the country and that I have the ability and qualifications to do those sorts of things.
We haven’t chatted in a long time.
But when I was sworn in on this Commission, we certainly had quite a long conversation at State House. Very friendly. It was a very happy meeting.

◆ Justice George Smith shared this narrative with The Sunday Mail News Editor Morris Mkwate in Harare on February 5, 2016.

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