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Mugabe
escapes liability to comply with court orders as judge grants him
reprieve over elections dilemma
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR)
October 02, 2012
President Robert
Mugabe on Tuesday 02 October 2012 escaped liability to comply with
a court order after Judge President Justice George Chiweshe granted
an order allowing him more time to call for elections in Zimbabwe
by 31 March 2013 rather than 1 October 2012 as dictated by the High
Court recently.
Lawyers who
represented President Mugabe pleaded that the coalition
government was so impoverished that it could not hold by-elections
in three Matebeleland constituencies and hence needed the by-elections
to be subsumed into general elections which they hinted could be
held in March 2013.
However, lawyers
representing the three former Nkayi South, Bulilima East and Lupane
East legislators opposed the application and argued that the High
Court did not have jurisdiction to alter, vary or suspend a Supreme
Court decision and even if the lower court had jurisdiction it could
not revisit a final order and amend, alter or vary it as it was
now functus officio (of no further official authority or legal efficacy).
The human rights
lawyers Dzimbabwe Chimbga, Tawanda Zhuwarara and Jeremiah Bamu of
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights argued that President Mugabe was
asking for an incompetent order as by law by-elections and general
elections cannot be held at the same time, according to Section
39 of the Electoral
Act.
Chimbga, Zhuwarara
and Bamu also argued that the way President Mugabe had approached
the courts (as a repeat litigant) was tantamount to an abuse of
process.
However, in
an order granted late Tuesday afternoon, Justice Chiweshe allowed
President Mugabe to fix dates for holding the three by-elections
by 31 March 2013.
"The period
within which to comply with the order granted in case No. SC 267/11
be and is hereby further extended to the 31st day of March 2013.
There will be no order as to costs. My reasons will follow,"
reads part of Justice Chiweshe's order.
President Mugabe
on Wednesday 26 September 2012 moved to evade contempt of court
charges by begging the High Court for an extension of time allowing
him to call for elections in Zimbabwe by 31 March 2013 rather than
1 October 2012.
The plea was
the second such appeal inside one month after he first sought the
High Court's indulgence to delay the gazetting of dates for
by-elections in three Matebeleland constituencies in August citing
the need to mobilise and ascertain the availability of financial
resources to stage what he termed "a mini-general election"
in all the vacant parliamentary and senatorial constituencies in
the country including local authorities.
His plea to
the High Court was triggered by a Supreme Court order which in July
confirmed the lower court's order that the Zanu PF leader
should call for by-elections in three Matebeleland constituencies
by the end of August. President Mugabe had appealed against High
Court judge, Justice Nicholas Ndou's decision in October 2011
ordering him to ensure by-elections for Nkayi South, Bulilima East
and Lupane East were held, as they were constitutionally long overdue.
In the urgent
chamber application filed by the Attorney General's Office
last Wednesday, President Mugabe disclosed that he would not be
able to comply with court orders compelling him to gazette dates
for the by-elections by October 1, 2012 and would need a six month
extension to do so.
President Mugabe's
elections dilemma was inflicted on him by three former MDC legislators
Abednico Bhebhe, Njabuliso Mguni and Norman Mpofu who in 2010 hauled
him to the High Court after their parliamentary membership was terminated
following their suspension and subsequent expulsion from the MDC
party.
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fact
sheet
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