The Executive Secretary for the Council for Legal Education (CLE), Huggins Duri, and Linda Kovi, an administrator employed by Kanoti and Partners, appeared before the Harare Magistrates’ Court on fraud charges in a case that has sent shockwaves through Zimbabwe’s legal community.
The allegations stem from an incident dating back to 2019 when the first accused, Kovi, graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from a Zambian university. In order to practice law in Zimbabwe, she was required to obtain a conversion certificate from the CLE, a process that included passing several modules.
Kovi enrolled with the CLE in 2020 and initially passed three of the four required modules. However, she failed three additional modules she later registered for, and an investigation revealed that she did not even attempt the bookkeeping module.
The State alleges that in an effort to fraudulently obtain the necessary certificate of completion, Kovi sought the assistance of Duri, the second accused. It is claimed that Duri manipulated the examination results, ensuring Kovi’s name appeared on the list of successful candidates. This alleged fraudulent activity led to the printing of a certificate of completion, which allowed Kovi to be admitted as a legal practitioner by the High Court of Zimbabwe.
The defense’s application for discharge was dismissed at the close of the State’s case, and the matter is set to proceed to the defense case on August 19, 2024.
