2006年VOA标准英语-Zimbabwe Judge Found Guilty of Corruption

By Tendai Maphosa
Harare
10 January 2006

The Zimbabwe High Court has found a judge guilty of inciting¹ two fellow justices to commit corrupt² acts.

Justice Simpson Mutambanengwe found Benjamin Paradza guilty of charges under Zimbabwe's Prevention of Corruption³, Criminal Procedure, and Evidence Acts. The court found Paradza not guilty of two further charges of attempting to defeat the course of justice.

The charges state that in early 2003 Paradza asked two fellow judges to change the bail⁴ conditions of a business colleague who was facing murder charges. He wanted the judges to release the business colleague's passport so he could travel abroad.

Unknown to Mr. Paradza, one of the judges alerted the police after the initial approach. The second telephone conversation between the two was recorded by the police and was a major part of the evidence against Paradza.

The court said it found the accused to be an evasive witness who contradicted himself.

Justice Mutambanengwe is a Zimbabwean sitting on the Supreme⁵ Court bench of neighboring Namibia. He was chosen to hear the case after Zimbabwe Justice Chinembiri Bhunu declined to preside over the trial of his former comrade in arms during Zimbabwe's war of liberation.

There was an international outcry when Paradza was hauled from his chambers⁶ in February 2003 and detained by the police. Some Zimbabwean judges also expressed their concern over the treatment of their colleague.

Various legal organizations charged that Paradza's treatment could have been punishment for his handing down judgments⁷ not favorable to the government.

The court will pass sentence Friday. Paradza faces jail or a fine.

1 inciting   

刺激的，煽动的

参考例句：

• What are you up to inciting mutiny and insubordination? 你们干吗在这里煽动骚动的叛乱呀。
• He was charged with inciting people to rebel. 他被控煽动民众起来叛乱。

2 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

3 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

4 bail   

v.舀（水），保释；n.保证金，保释，保释人

参考例句：

• One of the prisoner's friends offered to bail him out.犯人的一个朋友答应保释他出来。
• She has been granted conditional bail.她被准予有条件保释。

5 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

6 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

7 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。