Five leaders of the Zimbabwe Law Officers’ Association (Ziloa) barred from reporting for duty after Attorney-General (AG) Johannes Tomana appealed against a High Court order by Justice Ben Hlatshwayo in their favour are back at work.
Tomana had sought to reverse the High Court ruling, but failed to lodge his appeal within the stipulated 10 days rendering his appeal “defective”.
The AG withdrew the five’s prosecution licences after they led a crippling judicial services strike that left the security forces in charge of the courts after the wheels of justice had ground to a halt last year.
The five are Ziloa chairperson Leopold Mudisi, secretary-general Dereck Charamba, executive members Patrobs Dube, Mehuli Tshuma and Musekiwa Mbanje.
In a letter dated April 1 2012, copied to the Ministry of Justice, director of public prosecutions Florence Ziyambi, Public Service Commission and chief law officers, Mudisi, who is also the area prosecutor for Zvishavane and Mberengwa districts, said Tomana’s appeal was “defective”.
“We have noted that your appeal is defective and a legal nullity for want of compliance with Court rules on a dual facet namely, your failure to note the appeal with the High Court and your failure again to observe the provisions under rule 27b of the Supreme Court rules . . . Strictly speaking, it is a fact that there is no appeal at the moment.
“In view of the above, Sir, you are hereby notified that in the absence of an appeal, the celebrated High Court judgment takes effect immediately. Consequently, the prosecutors you sought to have withdrawn their prosecution powers are back in their offices performing their duties as prosecutors of the Republic with full authorities,” Mudisi wrote in the letter, a copy of which is NewsDay’s possession. Charamba, a prosecutor at the Masvingo magistrates’ court, told NewsDay in an interview yesterday that Tomana failed to file the appeal papers in 10 days after giving his notice to appeal against Hlatshwayo’s judgment.
“After giving his notice to appeal, Tomana was supposed to file his appeal papers in 10 days, but failed to do so as prescribed by the Supreme Court rule 27B, but he never proceeded to do that,” Charamba said.
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Ziloa said failure by Tomana to file the appeal papers in 10 days meant that High Court Judge, Justice Ben Hlathwayo’s judgment was still in effect and was, therefore, upheld.
