The hearing of Saviour Kasukuwere’s application for direct access to the Constitutional Court, challenging his disqualification from the presidential race in Zimbabwe’s 2023 elections, has been set for August 8, 2023. Justice Paddington Garwe made the decision after a case management meeting on Thursday, August 3, 2023.
Kasukuwere’s lawyer, Jaqueline Sande, announced that submissions and arguments are due by August 5, 2023. She said:
President @Hon_Kasukuwere ’s application for direct access to the constitutional court shall be heard on an urgent basis on Tuesday the 8th of August 2023 at 9:30 All submissions and heads of arguments to be filed by the 5th of August 2023 The fight for democracy is still on!
Kasukuwere, a former Local Government minister in Robert Mugabe’s government, approached the Constitutional Court in Harare after being disqualified from the race. The Supreme Court had upheld an earlier High Court ruling that Kasukuwere is no longer a registered voter, having been out of the country for at least 18 consecutive months.
Kasukuwere, a former ally of former First Lady Grace Mugabe and allegedly one of the G-40 kingpins, was forced out of Zimbabwe by the November 2017 coup that removed Mugabe from power. His disqualification was triggered by a challenge to his nomination as a candidate by ZANU PF activist Lovedale Mangwana.