As we commemorate the 16 days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence, 263Chat will profile 16 most influential women in Zimbabwe. The focus will be on their achievements and the contribution they have or are making to uplift society and the country at large.
Who is Fadzayi Mahere
Fadzayi Mahere is a Zimbabwean advocate of the High Court and Supreme Court of Zimbabwe. She’s also a political activist who has been very vocal in her opposition to Zanu-PF governance since about 2015. She has been one of the most prominent members of #ThisFlag Movement. She has also announced that she will be contesting as an Independent parliamentary candidate for Mt Pleasant Constituency in the 2018 harmonized elections.
Background
Fadzayi grew up in Mount Pleasant and is still a resident and part of the Mt Pleasant constituency.
Education
Mahere attended Arundel High School for her high school education before enrolling at the University of Zimbabwe where she studied for a Bachelors of Law Honours degree (LLB Hons) from 2004 to 2008. While at the University of Zimbabwe, she was Lead Counsel for the Zimbabwean Team that won the All Africa International Humanitarian Law Moot Court Competition in Arusha, Tanzania in 2007 and was awarded Prize for the Best Oral Argument in the Finals. Mahere was also Lead Counsel for University of Zimbabwe Team that won the National Moot Court Competition on International Humanitarian Law and in 2006 she got the opportunity to be Zimbabwe’s Representative at UNICEF African Video Conference on HIV/AIDS.
After graduating from the University of Zimbabwe she proceeded to the University of Cambridge in 2010, for a Master of Laws, International Criminal Law & International Commercial Litigation before graduating in 2011. Her special area of focus was on election violence as a crime against humanity under international law. During her studies at Cambridge she was a member of the Cambridge Law Society Cambridge Pro Bono Project Cambridge-Texas Defender Services Cambridge Union Debater.
Career and Works
Mahere practiced for a year in the Prosecution Division of the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Fadzayi Mahere practices as an advocate/barrister at the Harare Bar. Her main fields of practice include constitutional law, human rights law and administrative law. She also takes on appellate criminal work and specialized crime. Prior to studying law at Cambridge, Fadzayi worked in the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in the Hague and for the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. She was also awarded a Pegasus Fellowship from the Honorable Society of the Inner Temple in London, which enabled her to work in various Chambers in London, including Essex Court Chambers and Doughty Street Chambers. She has marshaled with Judge Paget QC at the Old Bailey, London’s Oldest Criminal Court in 2010.
In addition to her practice as an advocate, Fadzayi lectures Administrative Law and Property Law at the University of Zimbabwe.
Positions Held
- Advocate of the High Court and Supreme Court of Zimbabwe from January 2012 – Present, Harare
- International Criminal Lawyer – Office of the Prosecutor-International Criminal Court from 2009 – 2010 (1 year)
- Lawyer for Gollop and Blank Legal Practitioners from 2007 – 2009 (2 years)
- Legal Researcher – Office of the Prosecutor for the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda from 2008 – 2008 (less than a year)
In June 2016, Mahere was part of a delegation put together by This Flag Movement to meet with Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor John Mangudya concerning the introduction of the bond notes. The delegation consisted of Vince Musewe and Evan Mawarire who gave the opening remarks and reiterated that the citizens did not want the bond notes.
At the event Mahere highlighted that the bond notes were unconstitutional as it goes against Chapter 17 of the Constitution which speaks on public finance.
Fadzayi is known for her campaign theme #BeTheChange
Her level of confidence and academic background is what inspires women to strive to be better.
