THE High Court of South Africa has dismissed a bail application filed by a Zimbabwean national serving a 65-year prison sentence for financial crimes, ruling that he remains a flight risk and is unlawfully in the country.
Jeremiah Nyasha Musuwach Dube was arrested on July 31, 2015.
His trial began in August 2018, and he was sentenced in April 2024. Court documents show he was found guilty of money laundering, VAT fraud, corruption and possession of illegal identity documents.
He has been in custody for the past decade, first as an awaiting-trial detainee and now as a sentenced prisoner.
Dube recently filed a bail application at the Gauteng High Court Local Division, following a May 2, 2025, order of the Supreme Court of Appeal that referred his leave to appeal application for oral argument.
However, acting judge Nieuwoudt ruled that the referral did not automatically signal strong prospects of success of his appeal.
“The applicant must still convince the Supreme Court of Appeal that the appeal should be heard,” the judgment stated.
The court found that his special permit expired in December 2017, and his passport expired in October 2022.
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Judge Nieuwoudt said if released, Dube could easily obtain travel documents and flee South Africa or stay illegally.
The court rejected Dube’s claim that he benefited from the extension of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit, noting that he was excluded due to convictions linked to fraudulent South African citizenship documents.
“The applicant is unemployed and has been so for the past 10 years while incarcerated,” the judge ruled.
The bail application was dismissed with no order as to costs.
