Lovemore Madhuku is a Zimbabwean politician and democracy activist best known for being one of the founding members of the pro-democracy National Constituent Assembly, or NCA. Madhuku, an active member of civil society, served as the NCA’s President from 2001 to 2011. During his tenure as President, he worked to establish a new autonomous Zimbabwean constitution that would end Robert Mugabe’s one-party rule. His career culminated in 2000, when the NCA defeated Mugabe’s proposed constitution in a national referendum. Since then, Madhuku has been working to end Zimbabwe’s autocratic rule and establish a democratic constitution. He graduated from the University of Zimbabwe with a degree in law and later earned a doctorate from the University of Cambridge. Since 2011, he has been a full-time professor at the University of Zimbabwe. Madhuku is the author of the renowned textbook ‘An Introduction to Zimbabwean Law,’ which provides an overview of the Zimbabwean legal system.
Childhood & Adolescence
Lovemore Madhuku was born in Chipinge, Zimbabwe on July 20, 1966. He enrolled at the University of Zimbabwe to study law after completing his primary education at a local school in Chipinge. He earned a first-class Bachelor of Law degree in 1990.
His exceptional academic performance earned him a Beit Trust Fellowship to study law at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Though he enrolled at the same institution, he transferred to the University of Cambridge on a Cambridge Commonwealth Trust Scholarship after one term.
Career of Lovemore
After earning his postgraduate degree in law in 1994, he took an eighteen-month break and returned to Zimbabwe, where he joined the Friedrich-Ebert Stiftung, a German non-governmental organization. He thus assumed the role of labor law consultant. Meanwhile, he taught at the University of Zimbabwe’s Faculty of Law.
While pursuing his doctorate, he was offered and accepted a permanent lectureship in the Law Faculty at the University of Zimbabwe. He has taught constitutional law, labor law, jurisprudence, tax law, and banking law to students throughout his career.
He was a founding member of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) in 1997, an organization whose primary mission has been to advocate for democratic reforms in the country.
Madhuku has been outspoken in his opposition to Robert Mugabe’s one-party rule (Zimbabwe’s President since 1987 and former Prime Minister 1980–1987) through NCA. His primary objective has been to establish a democratic constitution that will put an end to autocratic rule for good.
He has held key positions in the organization since its inception, first as vice president from 1997 to 2001 and then as president from 2001 to 2011.
His career peaked in 2000, when he successfully lobbied against Robert Mugabe’s proposed constitution. Additionally, the successful ‘vote-no campaign’ ranks as NCA’s crowning achievement.
He later opposed a new constitution proposed by the Government of National Unity but was unsuccessful due to a lack of support for the campaign. On the other hand, the constitution garnered widespread support and was adopted.
He was detained several times during his tenure as NCA President. He was also attacked several times by the public and opposition members, and came dangerously close to death on each occasion, but was saved.
He was re-elected President of the NCA in 2006, but the appointment drew widespread criticism. According to reports, Madhuku amended the NCA’s constitution to extend his term of office for personal reasons.
He was appointed full-time professor at the University of Zimbabwe in 2011. Following his activism and lobbying work, he founded his own political party, the NCA, in 2013.
As the name implies, the party was founded on the same principles as the NGO he founded. Though he worked tirelessly and campaigned vehemently to win the people’s support, it was all in vain because he failed to establish rapport with the electorate.
Significant Works of Lovemore
During his tenure as President of the NCA, he successfully campaigned against Robert Mugabe’s proposed constitution in the 2000 national referendum.
Awards and Accomplishments
Madhuku received the prestigious Civil Courage Prize, a human rights award, in 2004 from the Train Foundation, a US-based organization. He shared the award with Emadeddin Baghi, an Iranian activist.
Personal History and Legacies
Madhuku is married to Annamercy and the couple has three children: Tendai, a daughter, and Nyasha and Kuziyakwashe, two sons. The marriage allegedly fell apart after he allegedly impregnated his sister-in-law.
Estimated Net Worth
Lovemore Madhuku is one of the wealthiest politicians and is ranked among the most popular. According to our analysis of Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider, Lovemore Madhuku’s net worth is estimated to be around $5 million.
Trivia
Lovemore Madhuku shared the 2004 Civil Courage Award with Iranian activist Emadeddin Baghi. Regrettably, due to the proposed prohibition of the NCA, he was unable to personally accept the award.