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

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and politician. He was involved in politics during

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

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

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

. 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 Africa hospital.

Career

Chidyausiku was born in

Domboshawa Domboshava is a peri-urban residential area in the province of Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe. It is located in an area of granite hills about north of Harare and is named after the enormous and beautiful granite hills. The name is derived from '' ...

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a landlocked 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 kn ...

. He attended Mutake School at Makumbi Mission, and then St Ignatius College in Chishawasha. He won a place at the

University of Rhodesia The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) is a public university in Harare, Zimbabwe. It opened in 1952 as the University College of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and was initially affiliated with the University of London. It was later renamed the University ...

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 The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was a militant organisation that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). ZANU split in 1975 into wings loyal to Robert Mugab ...

ZAPU The Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) is a Zimbabwean political party. It is a militant organization and political party that campaigned for majority rule in Rhodesia, from its founding in 1961 until 1980. In 1987, it merged with the Zimba ...

and FROLIZI. He acted in opposition to the government of

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 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 ...

. Chidyausiku stood down at the 1977 election. In the 1980 election Chidyausiku was elected as 12th on ZANU-PF's list for

Mashonaland East Mashonaland East, informally Mash East, is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 32,230 km2 and a population of approximately 1.35 million (2012). Marondera is the capital of the province. Geography Districts Mashonaland East i ...

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 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