Mavis Gibson
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Mavis Gibson (died 21 May 2025) 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 ...
a lawyer and judge who served on the
High Court of Zimbabwe High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...
and was the first female and longest serving-justice of the
High Court of Namibia High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...
. Born Mavis Gumede in Zimbabwe, Gibson was originally a journalist. In the 1970s, she was a
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
with chambers in
Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
,
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. Gibson was a Judge of the High Court of Zimbabwe for eleven years. Although some sources identify Gibson as Zimbabwe's first female judge, Kelello Justina Mafoso-Guni holds the distinction of becoming the country's first woman magistrate in 1980. Gibson was appointed a Judge of Namibia's High Court on 18 December 1995. At times she also served as an Acting Judge of Appeal of the
Supreme Court of Namibia The Supreme Court of Namibia is the supreme court, highest court in the Judiciary of Namibia, judicial system of Namibia. It is the court of last resort and the highest appellate court in the country. It is located in the city centre of Namibia's ...
. On her retirement in April 2008 she was the longest-serving member of the High Court.


See also

*
List of first women lawyers and judges in Africa This is a list of the first women lawyer(s) and judge(s) in Africa#Territories and regions, Africa. It includes the year in which the women were admitted to practice law (in parentheses). Also included are the first women in their country to achiev ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Mavis Zimbabwean women lawyers 20th-century Zimbabwean judges Namibian judges Women judges