Chief Justice of Zimbabwe

The Chief Justice of Zimbabwe is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe. As such, she is head of the Zimbabwe judiciary.

Chief Justice of Zimbabwe
Mukuru wevatongi
Coat of arms of Zimbabwe
Incumbent Elizabeth Gwaunza since 15 May 2026
Style	Honourable
Appointer	President of Zimbabwe
Term length	No term limit; must retire at 70, unless allowed to continue to 75 by the President
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Zimbabwe
Inaugural holder	Sir Murray Bisset (Chief Justice of Southern Rhodesia) Sir John Fieldsend (Chief Justice of Zimbabwe)
Formation	1927 (Southern Rhodesia) 18 April 1980 (Zimbabwe)
Deputy	Paddington Garwe

Per Section 168 of the Zimbabwean Constitution, the Chief Justice is assisted by a Deputy Chief Justice and two or more associate justices. The Chief Justice leads the business of the Supreme Court and presides over oral arguments. She is also the most senior of the three members of the Zimbabwe Court of Appeals. The Chief Justice administers the oath of office to the President of Zimbabwe. Like other Supreme Court justices, she is obliged to retire at 70, unless, before he attains that age, she elects to continue in office for an additional five years. After consulting with the Judicial Service Commission and submitting a medical report showing their mental and physical fitness, the Chief Justice's request to stay in office must still be approved by the President.

Since the court was established in 1927, 14 men have served as Chief Justice. This includes eight chief justices during the Southern Rhodesia and Rhodesia periods. The first Chief Justice was Sir Murray Bisset. Since Zimbabwe's independence in 1980, six men have served as Chief Justice. Of these six, three have been White and three Black. The current Chief Justice since 2026 is Elizabeth Gwaunza.

Duties

List

Chief Justices of Southern Rhodesia

No.	Image	Chief Justice	Tenure	Appointed by
1		Sir Murray Bisset	1927 – 24 October 1931	Sir John Chancellor
2		Sir Fraser Russell	1931–1943	Sir Cecil Hunter-Rodwell
3		Sir Robert James Hudson	1943 – 15 May 1950	Sir Evelyn Baring
—		Vernon Lewis (Acting)	1950–1950	Sir John Noble Kennedy
4		Sir Robert Clarkson Tredgold	1950–1955
5		Sir John Murray	1 August 1955 – 1961	Sir Peveril William-Powlett
6		Sir Hugh Beadle (see below)	1961 – 11 November 1965	Sir Humphrey Gibbs

Chief Justices of Rhodesia

No.	Image	Chief Justice	Tenure	Appointed by
1		Sir Hugh Beadle (see above)	11 November 1965 – 1977	Sir Humphrey Gibbs
2		Hector Macdonald	1977 – May 1980	John Wrathall

Chief Justices of Zimbabwe

No.	Image	Chief Justice	Tenure	Appointed by
		Hector Macdonald	18 April 1980 – May 1980
		John Vernon Radcliffe Lewis (acting)	May 1980 – 1 July 1980	Canaan Banana
1		John Fieldsend	1 July 1980 – February 1983
-		Leo Baron (acting)	1983
2		Telford Georges	February 1983 – February 1984
3		Enoch Dumbutshena	29 February 1984 – 1990
4		Anthony Gubbay	1990–2001	Robert Mugabe
5		Godfrey Chidyausiku	July 2001 – 28 February 2017
6		Luke Malaba	27 March 2017 – 15 May 2026
7		Elizabeth Gwaunza	15 May 2026 – present	Emmerson Mnangagwa

See also

• List of justices of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe