BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE AN attempt by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) to seize former High Court judge Justice Erica Ndewere’s vehicle hit a snag on Wednesday after she appealed against the judgment at the Supreme Court.
This followed a recent ruling by High Court judge Justice Samuel Deme who ordered Ndewere to surrender the vehicle, a Mercedes Benz E300, to the sheriff for safekeeping until her pending challenge was finalised.
The ruling came after the JSC filed an urgent chamber application to re-possess the ex-judge’s vehicle that was issued by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in June 2020.
The former judge, who was recently fired by Mnangagwa for alleged “gross incompetence”, has several pending court cases challenging her dismissal from the bench.
“Pending the finalisation of this matter, JSC is granted the following relief; that motor vehicle, Mercedes Benz E300, registration number ADY 4743, be, and is hereby placed under judicial attachment.
“Ndewere be, and is hereby ordered to surrender the above-mentioned vehicle to the sheriff at the High Court, Samora Machel Avenue, Harare, within 24 hours of service of this order where the motor vehicle shall be kept/stored by the sheriff pending the return day,” Justice Deme had ruled.
The judge also directed the sheriff to take all steps necessary in the event that Ndewere refuses to surrender the vehicle. But Ndewere appealed to the Supreme Court. The appeal sets aside the judgment of the High Court until the matter is heard by the Supreme Court.
In her court papers, Ndewere argued that she was entitled to buy the vehicle after she had been using it for five years.
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She also alleged that she was victimised and denied the right to buy the vehicle when her colleagues who were issued vehicles on the same day were allowed to buy theirs.
She also advised the court that the JSC had not formally terminated her services and had not paid her accrued leave and pension benefits.
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