JSC shoots back at Team Pachedu

THE Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has rubbished claims that it received US$119 450 for cyber security from the government after data analysts Team Pachedu exposed malpractices at the commission.

The development comes after Team Pachedu allegedly broke into the commission’s database, exposing irregularities which threaten the credibility of the country’s justice system.

Pachedu has claimed that one of JSC’s software developers was milking the commission by charging exorbitant fees.

“The JSC software developer, Kudzanai Machemedze, is milking JSC using a company, DA-RADAR, owned by his relative Tofara Machemedze. The services charged fall under Kudzanai's formal duty, and can be done in a few hours, but instead, he billed JSC $413 530 (US$5 000). There is also an insane US$119 450 IT security quote, where they used a different company, but the author was still Tofara,” claimed Pachedu.

In a statement, JSC said Team Pachedu was misleading the public.

“It has come to our attention that there is a Twitter handle, @PacheduZW, operated by what is referred to as ‘Team Pachedu’ which has been sharing some information which they purport to have been uplifted from the JSC website. We wish to inform the public that the information they are sharing which they purport to have accessed through the JSC website is false. We state hereunder some of the false narratives: Kudzanai Machemedze is not and has never been employed by the Judicial Service Commission.

“The allegations that we received and posted on our website an invoice of US$119 450 for cyber security are, therefore, false. Government, through Treasury, never paid for the alleged US$119 450. The contents of that information are patently false and meant to mislead members of the public,” the statement read.

JSC said it had never sought any services for cyber security as alleged.

“These letters were given in hard copy form and were never posted on JSC website because they are not part of the regular information shared on the public domain by JSC. While we are unable to confirm whether or not one such letter was issued to Machemedze during his time of attachment, we are certain that no such letters were ever posted on our website as alleged.

“The quotations and billing invoices which are being attributed to JSC by Team Pachedu were allegedly issued in 2020. Without admitting that they are genuine, these documents were issued well before Kudzanai Machemedze started his industrial attachment with JSC in May 2021.

“Procurement documents are delivered in hard copy form and subjected to rigorous procurement processes before they are submitted for payment through a government payment system known as Paynet. This process and the documents thereto are not posted on the JSC website.”

The commission said it had launched investigations into the matter.

“The information purported to have been accessed on the JSC website by ‘Team Pachedu’ has not been accessed from official information on the JSC website, but has been posted by illmeaning intruders to spin their malicious narrative. The JSC has since launched full-scale investigations into the unauthorised intrusion into its website.

However, Team Pachedu refuted allegations of hacking the JSC database, claiming the information was not secured on the internet.

“We do not need any permission from anyone to open anything that is publicly available on Google. Your incompetent IT is leaving the data accessible to the public and that’s your fault, not ours,” said the group on