JUSTICE IN ZIMBABWE 13 ____________________________________________________________________ these documents, since their publication could prejudice Mr Blackie’s defence to the charges against him. The Herald report, as well as subsequent reports in other newspapers, noted that before his retirement Mr Blackie had convicted the Minister of Justice, Mr Patrick Chinamasa, of contempt of court and sentenced him to imprisonment, though his judgment was later set aside in unclear circumstances.13 There is at least a suspicion that Mr Blackie’s arrest and subsequent harsh treatment arose from his judgment against Mr Chinamasa rather than his judgment in favour of Mrs White. The propriety of the pre-dawn arrest of Mr Blackie was certainly questionable. It is an extremely serious matter to arrest a judge or magistrate, even a retired one, on account of a decision he made in the course of his judicial duties, and if it is done at all it should be done only in the clearest cases of criminal conduct. Nevertheless, there seems to have been no attempt before Mr Blackie’s arrest to ascertain his version of events, to find out for example whether he claimed the judgment concerned was issued through oversight or some other error. And even if, after proper investigation, the police considered that it was appropriate to arrest him, they should have done so in a less brutal and intimidating manner. The impropriety of the arrest was compounded by the conduct of the police. After the arrest the police did not disclose Mr Blackie’s whereabouts to his lawyers, in an apparent attempt to deny the lawyers access to him, and he claimed that on three occasions he was refused permission to make a phone call.14 It was only in response to an order from the High Court that Mr Blackie was produced in court, handcuffed and heavily guarded, on 14 September. The judge before whom Mr Blackie was brought (Hlatshwayo J) refused to investigate the legality of his detention, apparently on the ground that the police had complied with his order to produce Mr Blackie, so any such investigation would have to be the subject of a fresh application before another judge. The next day, at another hearing, the same judge refused to order Mr Blackie’s release. Finally on Monday 16 September Mr Blackie was released on bail by a magistrate.