Justice Moses Hungwe Chinhengo tragically passed away in Masvingo on Friday September 19, 2025 just a month and a couple of days before attaining the Biblical age of three score and 10 - 70 years — on October 29, 2025.
In his glowing tribute to Justice Chinhengo, professor Lovemore Madhuku, a leading Zimbabwean expert on Constitutional Law, acknowledged that “we have lost a giant in law”.
He added that Zimbabweans must be proud of the fact that Justice Chinhengo’s services as a judge were highly regarded in the Sadc region, especially in Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho “thereby raising to the highest level Zimbabwe’s reputation as a land of well-grounded legal professionals”.
Chief Justice Peter Shivute of Namibia weighed in with another moving tribute in which he described Justice Chinhengo as “a distinguished jurist whose legal career was marked by a principled commitment to justice and the rule of law”.
Chief Justice Shivute added that Justice Chinhengo “lent his judicial expertise to the southern African region during his service with distinction as a judge of the High Courts in Zimbabwe and Botswana; as an Acting Judge of Appeal in Lesotho; as an Acting Judge of Appeal in the Supreme Court of Namibia during 2021; and as an acting Jjudge of the High Court of Namibia from September 2023 to July 2025”.
Chief Justice Shivute paid Justice Chinhengo the ultimate accolade when he said “his vast knowledge and seasoned judgments greatly enriched the Namibian judiciary through considered reasoning and comparative insight as his service as a judge in both the Supreme Court and High Court has left a lasting legacy that will guide Namibian jurisprudence for generations to come”.
He concluded his heartfelt tribute by extending the condolences of Namibia’s Judicial Service Commission and judiciary to Justice Chinhengo’s family and the people of Zimbabwe following the loss of “a towering figure in the legal fraternity”.
On a personal level, I had the privilege and pleasure of being Justice Chinhengo’s:
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lChairman on the Alpha Media Holdings [AMH] Editorial Advisory Board of Trustees whose primary role is to oversee quality and accuracy of the editorial content in the NewsDay, Southern Eye, Zimbabwe Independent, The Standard and the HStv.
lChairman of the Commercial Arbitration Centre’s Pool of Arbitrators and Mediators of which he became an integral part by virtue of the fact that he was one of the most sought-after arbitrators not only in Zimbabwe, but also in the Sadc bloc of nations.
lColleague on the Board of Trustees of Veritas Zimbabwe whose core business is to gather and disseminate information on the work of our country’s Parliament and laws.
lSounding board in respect of the pivotal role that he played as the AMH Group’s ombudsman.
In this latter position, Justice Chinhengo made an invaluable and tangibly lasting contribution in that following his involvement and unparalleled attention to detail, there has been a marked reduction of litigation cases against the AMH group as a direct result of claims for damages arising from allegedly defamatory stories that would have been published from time to time in any of the AMH group’s titles.
Justice Chinhengo’s ultimate goal as the ombudsman was the attainment of factually correct, fair and balanced coverage of newsworthy issues without the journalists getting carried away and ending up, wittingly or unwittingly, defaming any of the persons involved in the subject matter of any of the articles concerned.
lColleague in a survey that was conducted by an international non-governmental organisation, the Institute for Integrated Transitions [IFIT] and culminated in the production and publication of a user-friendly compendium on the Selection and Eligibility Criteria for the Appointment of Judges especially of apex courts such as the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court.
In the broader AMH family, I always found Justice Chinhengo a self-deprecating, but gregarious person who was thoughtful and patient in his interaction with others.
He would frequently go out of his way to help colleagues especially those who were not necessarily clued up on matters pertaining to law.
Let us all extend our most sincere condolences to his loved ones and pray that his departed soul may rest in eternal peace.
*Muchadeyi Ashton Masunda is chairman of the AMH Editorial Advisory Board of Trustees, and senior legal practitioner | international commercial and sports arbitrator.
Masunda also served as Harare mayor July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2013.
