By Judith Nyuke
A Zimbabwe National Army legal officer, Grace Kurasha has been acquitted by a Harare Regional magistrate in a case where she was facing allegations of fraudulently acquiring a local bridging certificate from the Council of Legal Education.
The bridging certificate is mandatory for individuals who obtained their law degrees from institutions outside Zimbabwe.
Kurasha was jointly charged with Huggins Duri, who was also acquitted of the same charges.
She was legally represented by Admire Rubaya.
In his judgement, magistrate Taurai Manuwere said the State failed to prove its case.
According to court papers, in 2020, Kurasha earned a law degree in Zambia.
The State failed to prove that upon returning to Zimbabwe, she allegedly skipped the mandatory bridging course and instead paid Council for Legal Education officials Shorai Mupunga and Huggins Duri US$1,000 to secure the necessary certificate without an exam.
The State had alleged that using this fraudulently obtained document, Kurasha was admitted to the High Court as a legal practitioner on March 23.
