HIGH COURT judge Justice Priscilla Chigumba has dismissed an application by the Attorney-General (AG)’s Office seeking to have a Marange businessman, Newman Chiadzwa, re-incarcerated over his diamond possession case.
REPORT BY CHARLES LAITON
In dismissing the application, Justice Chigumba said the AG’s Office had adopted a wrong procedure and its application was out of time.
Chiadzwa was on March 3, 2010 convicted by a Mutare magistrate of contravening section 3 of the Precious Stones Act after being found in possession of industrial diamonds.
He was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment and further ordered to pay a $132 764 fine.
Addressing the court on Monday this week, Chiadzwa’s lawyer Advocate Thabani Mpofu said he had argued at the Supreme Court that at the time Chiadzwa was arrested over the gems, the law had not changed and he was in lawful possession of the stones. Mpofu said his client could not have been properly convicted of the said offence and the Supreme Court ruled in his client’s favour.
“The State wants you to overrule the Supreme Court’s decision and that is incompetent.
“I ask for dismissal of the application and if the AG is not happy with the review of the High Court, he must approach the Supreme Court to seek leave to appeal contrary to what the State has done in this matter,” Mpofu said.
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After being committed to prison, Chiadzwa, through his lawyers, made applications to be released from jail.
On review, High Court judge Justice Andrew Mutema ruled in his favour and granted him reprieve.
Following his release from prison, the AG’s Office filed yet another application claiming Chiadzwa’s release was improper since the court order on criminal review by Justice Mutema was made without the concurrence of other judges, as provided for in terms of section 29 of the High Court Act, an assertion dismissed by the Supreme Court.
