CHIEF Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku is on Tuesday next week expected to conduct a pre-hearing of the constitutional application filed by Bikita West MP Munyaradzi Kereke, who is seeking to have his ex-boss, former Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor Gideon Gono, prosecuted over alleged acts of corruption.
CHARLES LAITON SENIOR COURT REPORTER
On Monday this week, Chief Registrar Walter Chikwanha wrote to the two “warring” parties’ lawyers advising them of the May 27 date on which Chief Justice Chidyausiku would deliberate on the matter.
The matter would then be heard by the full Constitutional Court (ConCourt) bench on a date to be announced later.
Early this year Kereke, who is Gono’s former adviser, filed a ConCourt application seeking to compel the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) to investigate Gono on graft charges allegedly committed while the latter was at the helm of the central bank.
In his application, Kereke argued that the failure by Zacc to investigate allegations of abuse of office, corruption and theft, levelled against Gono was unconstitutional.
He said the commission had an obligation to receive and consider complaints from members of public.
Responding to Kereke’s application, Gono said the claims were baseless.
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“The instant application is clearly one that is short on the law, but long on heat, malice and verbiage,” Gono said.
The former governor further said in order for Kereke’s application to succeed, the court would have to establish among other issues, whether the claim was justiciable at law and/or whether the ConCourt had the jurisdiction to grant the remedy sought.
In his heads of arguments filed at the court yesterday, Gono maintained he acted above board in all his mandates while with the central bank and allegations levelled against him by Kereke were proved by the Zacc to be false.
Instead Gono said if there were acts of corrupt activities at the RBZ, Kereke was the man to be answerable since he was the one who brokered the alleged deals. Gono further said the fact that investigations might not have progressed at Kereke’s desired pace or resulted in his favoured outcome did not elevate the present case to the constitutional crisis which Kereke wanted it to be.
