Godfrey Guwa Chidyausiku (23 February 1947 – 3 May 2017) was a

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

and politician. He was involved in politics during

Rhodesia Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

's unilaterally declared independence, being a member of the Rhodesian House of Assembly. After Zimbabwean independence in 1980, he was elected as a Zimbabwe African National Union (Patriotic Front) member to the Zimbabwean House of Assembly, and served in the government as

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

. After becoming a Judge he headed the Constitutional Convention in 1999, and was appointed Chief Justice in 2001. He retired on 31 March 2017 after reaching the 70-year mandatory retirement age of Zimbabwean judges. He then died on 3 May 2017 in a South African hospital.

Career

Chidyausiku was born in Domboshawa,

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

. He attended Mutake School at Makumbi Mission, and then St Ignatius College in Chishawasha. He won a place at the University of Rhodesia from 1968 to 1972 where he read law. He went into private legal practice. At the 1974 general election he won the Harari African Roll constituency, standing with the unofficial support of the African National Council which had been set up by ZANU, ZAPU and FROLIZI. He acted in opposition to the government of

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 191920 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to 1979. He w ...

. Chidyausiku stood down at the 1977 election. In the 1980 election, Chidyausiku was elected as 12th on ZANU-PF's list for Mashonaland East when ZANU-PF won 14 seats. He was Deputy Minister of Local Government and Housing and of Justice from 1980, and was promoted to be Attorney-General in 1982. Chidyausiku was later promoted to be a judge and served as chair of the Constitutional Convention charged with drafting a new constitution for Zimbabwe. He ensured that the constitution accorded with the wishes of the government, including an executive Presidency; many members of the convention had argued against it. However, in the referendum on the constitution, held in February 2000, the electorate rejected the text. After the resignation of Chief Justice Anthony Gubbay, Chidyausiku was named as Zimbabwe's new Chief Justice in July 2001.

Personal life

Chidyausiku was married to Sheila Madzima (1948–2009).

Death

Godfrey Chidyausiku died of complications from cancer in South Africa. He was survived by 3 children and two grandchildren. He was buried at the National Heroes' Acre in Harare, Zimbabwe on Saturday, 13 May 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chidyausiku, Godfrey 1947 births 2017 deaths Attorneys-general of Zimbabwe Chief justices of Zimbabwe Rhodesian politicians Rhodesian lawyers Members of the Parliament of Rhodesia People from Mashonaland East Province ZANU–PF politicians Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe Members of the Senate of Zimbabwe Deaths from cancer in South Africa Judges of the Supreme Court of Zimbabwe University of Zimbabwe alumni 20th-century Zimbabwean judges 21st-century Zimbabwean judges