The law is just the law: analysing the definition of corruption in Zimbabwe
| Date | 08 May 2018 |
| Published date | 08 May 2018 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-06-2017-0055 |
| Pages | 354-361 |
| Author | Prosper Simbarashe Maguchu |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & Finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial crime |
The law is just the law: analysing
the definition of corruption
in Zimbabwe
Prosper Simbarashe Maguchu
Public International Law, Justus Liebig Universitat Giessen, Giessen, Germany
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to highlight the shortfalls of the legal definition of corruption in
Zimbabwe.
Design/methodology/approach –Defining corruption is a universal challenge. Thus, in reviewing
Zimbabwes definition, this paper also draws on other common law system jurisdictions based on English
traditionsand Sharia law to make a comparative analysis. The paperalso takes a multi-disciplinary approach
that transcendfields of law and anthropology.
Findings –Although criminallaw can be used as the normative basis in thefight against corruption, it can
also be used by the powerful to shield themselves from corruption, through its indeterminacy and
interpretation.Be this as it may, real and firm law can assist in curbing the vice.
Research limitations/implications –The paper’s purview is limited both in terms of subject and
scope. Althoughit starts by considering the definition of corruptionto get a broad overview of this subject, it
mainly focuses on the meaning of two popularconcepts that are popularly identified with our understanding
of corruption–abuse of power and public office.
Originality/value –The paper tries to establisha framework for understanding and curbing corruption
through the use of statutorylaw.
Keywords Zimbabwe, Corruption, Criminal abuse, Public office
Paper type Research paper
The law is too important to be toyed with. Its mankinds greatest achievement –the rule of law,
the idea that no matter who you are your actions have consquences. (“Charles McGill”[1]).
1. Introduction
This article, with admiration and respect, starts with a long extract from anthropologists
Anders and Nuijten (2009) on the relationshipbetween law and corruption. They argue that
law and corruption are beyond binary oppositions. Therefore, contrary to conventional
wisdom, law is not an antithesis to corruption.In their own words:
Corruption is thus at the very core of order,inscribed into the law of the nation-state. [...],
it is because of this close and contradictory relationship with the formal legal order that
corruption is surrounded by gossip, rumors, conspiracy, and accusations. Drawing on the
insight that law and its negation are opposites that are constitutive of each other and for that
reason cannot exist without each other avoids the reification of the dualism between the legal
and the illegal, transparency and secrecy. The possibility of its transgression or perversion is
always already inscribed into the law as hidden possibility. This, then, is the secret of law
(Anders and Nuijten, 2009,p.12).
The extract above mirrors thecurrent situation in Zimbabwe as this article will bring to
surface.
JFC
25,2
354
Journalof Financial Crime
Vol.25 No. 2, 2018
pp. 354-361
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1359-0790
DOI 10.1108/JFC-06-2017-0055
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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