Former Judge Ndewere's Bid For President Mnangagwa To Pay Penal Fees Dismissed
The High Court has dismissed an application by former High Court judge Erica Ndewere which sought to compel President Mnangagwa to pay penal fees in a suit she was demanding to be issued with a copy of the findings that led to her dismissal.
Ndewere was discharged from the bench in June this year after a three-member tribunal led by retired judge Justice Simbi Mubako — set up to probe her suitability to hold judicial office — recommended her dismissal.
In her urgent application, Ndewere had sued President Mnangagwa, the tribunal bench, Judicial Service Commission and the Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister.
She claimed that she was entitled to be given promptly and in writing the reasons why the Tribunal came to the conclusion that it did.
Ndewere argued that she wanted to be able to exercise her right to have the Tribunal’s decision either reviewed or appealed against.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Kwenda found that Ndewere’s application was not necessary because she had already been served with the notice of her removal from office when she launched her application. He added:
The inescapable conclusion is that the prayer for costs lacks merit. In the circumstances, I order as follows . . . There shall be no order as to costs.
Ndewere was accused of “conduct inconsistent with being a judicial officer”, but she denied the charges saying she was being victimised for releasing opposition leader Job Sikhala and defying unlawful orders from Chief Justice Luke Malaba.
She became the second judge to be fired by the President after Supreme Court Judge Justice Francis Bere, who was fired in October 2020.
This comes amid accusations that the ZANU PF government has captured courts and is victimising judges who are refusing to be influenced by the party.
More: The Herald
