LSZ vice-president Rumbidzai Matambo
ONE of the first ladies to join Dube, Manikai & Hwacha Legal Practitioners Partnership, Rumbidzai Matambo trained as a commercial lawyer, and worked through the ranks to head the conveyancing and securitisation unit in the firm, a position she currently holds.
Matambo (40) has 17 years’ experience in practice. She was admitted into partnership in 2007 and works as legal adviser to several companies in many sectors as well as local and regional financial institutions.
In addition to her professional duties, Matambo has assisted in the training of young lawyers who join the firm and currently sits in the firm’s executive committee. She is also a board member in a local financial institution and a trustee in several non-profit organisations.
She was elected to the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) council in December 2018 before she was elevated to the presidium following the 2020 annual general meeting and the subsequent 2021 inaugural council meeting early this year.
Matambo chairs the LSZ conveyancing subcommittee which considers and addresses all matters relating to conveyancing and the Deeds Registries Act.
She participated in one of the pilot programs for online conveyancing which remains in creation phase.
Zimbabwe currently lags behind other jurisdictions in the conveyance legal sub-sector, especially online registrations and tariffs charged which fall behind best practices and Matambo is keen to see Zimbabwe conveyancing brought to the 21st century.
As councillor and chair of the conveyancing sub-committee, she is constantly engaging both members of the profession practicing conveyancing and the Registrar of Deeds to bridge the gap between the two and address ever-arising issues and concerns.
Matambo has also sat on the World Bank, ease of doing business, property registration committee, whose main mandate was to find ways to reduce the turn-around time to registration of properties in Zimbabwe.
As LSZ vice-president, Matambo will now also chair the finance sub-committee.
From her training, Matambo has a keen appreciation of the value of sound governance of the legal practice. This brings benefit not only to the practitioner but also helps clients and the public to better trust and appreciate the demands of practice.
Her aim is to foster the dignity and ethics of the profession. To this end, Matambo would wish to see the LSZ enforce its powers against malpractice and unethical conduct in the profession and bring offending practitioners to book.
A devout Catholic, Matambo is also a member of the Catholic Professionals Network of Zimbabwe and a mother to two young sons, who is keen on mentoring young women professionals and share her experiences with them.