News / National
Tsvangirai challenges Electoral Court ruling
22 Aug 2013 at 08:35hrs | Views
MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai has appealed to the Supreme Court against the Electoral Court's decision which denied him access to the election material and recommended the prosecution of his lawyers on contempt of court charges.
Mr Tsvangirai, who suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of President Mugabe in the presidential election, had sought an order compelling the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to furnish him with election evidence to prove his case at the Constitutional Court.
He has since dropped his poll challenge claiming that the judiciary was an appendage of Zanu-PF and would rule against him.
In his judgment on Tuesday, Justice Chinembiri Bhunu made a finding that Mr Tsvangirai's lawyers conduct bordered on contempt of court and he referred a copy of the judgment to the Attorney General for prosecution.
The court ruled that his lawyers were in contempt of court for making scathing attacks on the Judiciary through the dossier filed in a presidential petition filed by Mr Tsvangirai at the Constitutional Court. It is not clear why Mr Tsvangirai was appealing against the lower court's decision when the Constitutional Court upheld the victory of President Mugabe and declared the elections as free, fair and credible. President Mugabe will be sworn in today giving him the mandate to lead the country for another five-year term.
In the notice of appeal filed yesterday at the Supreme Court, Mr Tsvangirai argues that the Electoral Court erred in referring the judgment to the AG without hearing the lawyers' side of the story in relation to the alleged contempt of court.
Mr Tsvangirai, who suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of President Mugabe in the presidential election, had sought an order compelling the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to furnish him with election evidence to prove his case at the Constitutional Court.
He has since dropped his poll challenge claiming that the judiciary was an appendage of Zanu-PF and would rule against him.
In his judgment on Tuesday, Justice Chinembiri Bhunu made a finding that Mr Tsvangirai's lawyers conduct bordered on contempt of court and he referred a copy of the judgment to the Attorney General for prosecution.
The court ruled that his lawyers were in contempt of court for making scathing attacks on the Judiciary through the dossier filed in a presidential petition filed by Mr Tsvangirai at the Constitutional Court. It is not clear why Mr Tsvangirai was appealing against the lower court's decision when the Constitutional Court upheld the victory of President Mugabe and declared the elections as free, fair and credible. President Mugabe will be sworn in today giving him the mandate to lead the country for another five-year term.
In the notice of appeal filed yesterday at the Supreme Court, Mr Tsvangirai argues that the Electoral Court erred in referring the judgment to the AG without hearing the lawyers' side of the story in relation to the alleged contempt of court.
Source - herald
