Benjamin Paradza

Title

Sigrid Rausing Visiting Fellow 2006 - 2008

Profile

Benjamin Paradza is a Zimbabwean judge who fled his homeland in early 2006 after what is widely regarded by independent commentators as the latest of a series of controversial examples which have seen the Zimbabwean government accused internationally of interference with the independence of the judiciary.

President Mugabe appointed Benjamin Paradza as a High Court Judge in 2001. Judge Paradza had been a guerrilla commander in the liberation struggle against white minority rule. He left the army and returned to law school as a student.   He completed a Bachelor of Law (BL Hon) and postgraduate Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from the University of Zimbabwe. He then went on to practice law for nearly 20 years, first as a prosecutor, and then in private practice.

He joined the Institute of Policy Studies as the inaugural Sigrid Rausing Visiting Fellow Swedish philanthropist Sigrid Rausing generously funded this new and unique fellowship for two years. She has a particular interest in refugees and the guardians of human rights, like Benjamin Paradza, who are persecuted for trying to uphold the rule of la w.

In mid 2008 Ben's fellowship ended and he is now working as an employment law advocate.