News / National
Court dismisses Chombo divorce application
01 Mar 2012 at 12:12hrs | Views
HARARE - Marian, the estranged wife of Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo, says she might be getting a raw deal in her divorce case because of Judge President George Chiweshe's alleged close relations with the minister.
She claims in court papers that Justice Chiweshe is not only Chombo's friend, but a relative.
Justice Chiweshe, the most senior person at the High Court, was presiding over Marian and the minister's divorce case, an issue that has riled Marian who has previously asked for the judge to step down because of the alleged links to Chombo.
Matters came to a head after Justice Chiweshe on February 17, ruled that Chombo's divorce case be set down as an unopposed matter today and Marian claims that she was never given a chance to justify why she had failed to attend a pre-trial conference.
Marian's lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, has since written to the registrar of the High Court claiming that Justice Chiweshe was not only "well-known and friendly" to her husband, but a relative too.
In the letter, Mtetwa cites the alleged close relationship between the Judge President and Chombo as the reason why Justice Chiweshe made an "adverse decision" against Marian without hearing her side of the story.
Mtetwa has also applied for today's unopposed hearing to be set aside.
Justice Chiweshe on February 17 ruled that Marian was in contempt of court when she failed to appear before the judge for a pre-trial conference and struck off her plea and defence, and set the case for today as an unopposed matter.
"We are, as is our client, aware that the Judge President allocates cases and determines who hears which matter. Our client had indicated at the outset that the judge President and her husband are not only well-known to each other but that they are related as well.
"Our client has once again raised concerns that the Judge President should not be involved in the allocation or dealing with the latest round of applications given his relationship with Chombo and given the fact that he was prepared to make an adverse decision against her without giving her the opportunity to explain her absence at the pre-trial conference," wrote Mtetwa.
Mtetwa queried why she was given limited time â€" three days â€" to contact Marian for the pre-trial conference.
She said the short notice was a clear violation of the Practice Direction 1 of 1995 and the provisions of Rule 182.
Representing Chombo, Advocate Thabani Mpofu, said Marian was given adequate chances to attend pre-trial conferences but chose not to.
He said Marian even denied appending her signature on papers bearing the agreements and disagreements made outside the court, in spite of several reminders to her since 2010.
"I think she was simply trying to prolong the court process by not attending and refusing to sign the papers to be presented before the Judge President," Mpofu said, adding that Mtetwa's letter would not change anything since the case was proceeding for determination on the divorce order.
In her founding affidavit in the urgent chamber application to try to block today's hearing dismissed by Justice Ben Hlatshwayo yesterday, Marian said she was in South Africa when the pre-trial was conducted.
She said she would suffer "serious irreparable harm" if the divorce case proceeded unopposed.
"I do not know what portion of the directive of the Judge President it is suggested I did not comply with, particularly as at no time was it suggested I was required to individually do anything," argues Marian.
"Given how the matter was handled at pre-trial conference, I now entertain the real fear that whatever representations I might make before the court on the March 1, 2012, this may not in any way stop a hearing of the divorce action as unopposed on that date."
She says the Judge President's order, if looked at closely, would deny her a chance of getting negotiated earnings from Chombo's property, making her walk out of the marriage with virtually nothing.
"I would walk away from a marriage of over 26 years with nothing, a situation which would clearly be prejudicial to me," she said.
She claims in court papers that Justice Chiweshe is not only Chombo's friend, but a relative.
Justice Chiweshe, the most senior person at the High Court, was presiding over Marian and the minister's divorce case, an issue that has riled Marian who has previously asked for the judge to step down because of the alleged links to Chombo.
Matters came to a head after Justice Chiweshe on February 17, ruled that Chombo's divorce case be set down as an unopposed matter today and Marian claims that she was never given a chance to justify why she had failed to attend a pre-trial conference.
Marian's lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, has since written to the registrar of the High Court claiming that Justice Chiweshe was not only "well-known and friendly" to her husband, but a relative too.
In the letter, Mtetwa cites the alleged close relationship between the Judge President and Chombo as the reason why Justice Chiweshe made an "adverse decision" against Marian without hearing her side of the story.
Mtetwa has also applied for today's unopposed hearing to be set aside.
Justice Chiweshe on February 17 ruled that Marian was in contempt of court when she failed to appear before the judge for a pre-trial conference and struck off her plea and defence, and set the case for today as an unopposed matter.
"We are, as is our client, aware that the Judge President allocates cases and determines who hears which matter. Our client had indicated at the outset that the judge President and her husband are not only well-known to each other but that they are related as well.
"Our client has once again raised concerns that the Judge President should not be involved in the allocation or dealing with the latest round of applications given his relationship with Chombo and given the fact that he was prepared to make an adverse decision against her without giving her the opportunity to explain her absence at the pre-trial conference," wrote Mtetwa.
She said the short notice was a clear violation of the Practice Direction 1 of 1995 and the provisions of Rule 182.
Representing Chombo, Advocate Thabani Mpofu, said Marian was given adequate chances to attend pre-trial conferences but chose not to.
He said Marian even denied appending her signature on papers bearing the agreements and disagreements made outside the court, in spite of several reminders to her since 2010.
"I think she was simply trying to prolong the court process by not attending and refusing to sign the papers to be presented before the Judge President," Mpofu said, adding that Mtetwa's letter would not change anything since the case was proceeding for determination on the divorce order.
In her founding affidavit in the urgent chamber application to try to block today's hearing dismissed by Justice Ben Hlatshwayo yesterday, Marian said she was in South Africa when the pre-trial was conducted.
She said she would suffer "serious irreparable harm" if the divorce case proceeded unopposed.
"I do not know what portion of the directive of the Judge President it is suggested I did not comply with, particularly as at no time was it suggested I was required to individually do anything," argues Marian.
"Given how the matter was handled at pre-trial conference, I now entertain the real fear that whatever representations I might make before the court on the March 1, 2012, this may not in any way stop a hearing of the divorce action as unopposed on that date."
She says the Judge President's order, if looked at closely, would deny her a chance of getting negotiated earnings from Chombo's property, making her walk out of the marriage with virtually nothing.
"I would walk away from a marriage of over 26 years with nothing, a situation which would clearly be prejudicial to me," she said.
Source - Daily News
