Former G40 kingpin Saviour Kasukuwere’s bid to become Zimbabwe president was thrown out today after High Court judge David Mangota ruled that he could not contest next month’s poll because he had been out of the country for more than 18 months.
Mangota made the ruling following an application by Lovedale Mangwana challenging Kasukuwere’s nomination as one of the presidential candidates in the 23 August elections.
Mangwana said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission should not have accepted Kasukuwere’s nomination papers because he was no longer a registered voter as he had been out of the country for more than 18 months.
Kasukuwere has been living in exile in South Africa.
Mangota ruled in favour of Mangwana saying it was up to Kasukuwere to prove that he had not been out of the country for 18 months or that he had left the country to seek medical attention and should therefore submit proof.
Kasukuwere, at one time the political commissar of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front, left the country following the 2017 military intervention that removed former President Robert Mugabe.
He returned to the country briefly but left after charges were preferred against him.
Police say there are two outstanding warrants of arrest for Kasukuwere.
“We have two warrants of arrest that have not been cancelled yet,” police spokesman Paul Nyathi said.
“The first warrant was issued by magistrate Mujaya on 18 January 2019 where he was facing criminal law charges under Section 174 (b) (a) of the criminal law code because he defaulted court under number CRB HarareR842/18.
“The second warrant is under 39/18, he was given his passport but failed to submit it back within the stipulated period so the police should execute these warrants they are currently in possession of and so far there are no indications that they have been cancelled,” he said.
Kasukuwere’s lawyers have said they are appealing against Mangota’s ruling.
Below is Mangota’s full judgement:
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