By Patience Rashai

Human Rights Lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa has attracted a volley of criticism for lacking professionalism, and intending to boost her mileage through unwarranted publicity stance, in turn jeopardising Hopewell Chin’ono’s chances.

The lawyer who has since gained notoriety for taking up high profiled human rights cases in the country, seems to have grabbed yet another opportunity to market herself, riding on Chin’ono’s fame.

Political analysts have therefore questioned Mtetwa’s conduct during her discharge of this case arguing that her insatiate love for the limelight and career building was taking centre stage, at the expense of the client.

Political analyst, Raymond Mwando accusingly said, “Since Chin’ono’s arrest, Mtetwa has been onto the state complaining just about anything to everything. She is turning this case into a political circus instead of dealing with the real matter on the ground,” he said.

“It’s usually a challenge when one gets these high profiled lawyers to represent them. As much as they will be doing their job, they also take up these controversial cases for their personal gratification and profile boosting. Choosing Mtetwa to represent him was a wrong move; usually she always ends up playing politics instead of representing the real case at hand.”

Over the past weeks, jailbird Chin’ono has had complaints over his treatment, ranging from being denied food, protective covid19 clothing, among other trivial matters.

Responding to allegations on denying the inmate home cooked food, a Chikurubi prison warden explained.

“Unfortunately as a public figure all eyes are on him, and if anything were to happen to him, the state would be held accountable. As such we resolved that he be treated like the rest, eating the same food that every other inmate is eating with no preferential treatment.

The only reason we are denying him access to cooked home food is because we fear it turning into another case - maybe of food poisoning and we can’t afford that with a prisoner of this nature. If anything was to happen to him in our custody, the back-lash will be unbearable,” he said.

Chin’ono was arrested last month, together with Jacob Ngarivhume for inciting the public to violently overthrow the Government in the puffed up July 31 protests, to no avail.