News / National
Kereke seeks audience with judge president
13 Jun 2019 at 12:29hrs | Views
Jailed politician and businessman Munyaradzi Kereke has written an urgent petition seeking audience with judge president Justice George Chiweshe over the alleged criminal abuse of office by judicial officers handling his appeal.
Kereke is serving a seven-year jail term at Harare Central Prison following a conviction for raping a minor.
In his handwritten application lodged from his prison cell, Kereke is seeking urgent leave for audience in chambers with the judge president to present hard evidence allegedly proving criminal abuse of office by officers of the court handling his appeal.
Kereke alleges that key evidence in the judgement delivered by the court proving his innocence was tampered with and removed from the court record and substituted with falsified fresh evidence in the judgement delivered by the court on the 29th of May 2019.
He added that he applied for bail on changed circumstances in February 2018 and subsequently wrote to the court to set down the matter.
The court allegedly ignored the matter for 13 months when bail matters are urgent cases.
Kereke contends when judgement was eventually handed down he failed to appear in person as is constitutionally guaranteed under Section 70 of the Constitution.
As a result, he argues that these facts all prove that the court handled his appeal in an unfair manner, in violation of his right to a fair trial in contravention of Section 69 (1).
He has also lodged an urgent chamber application for leave to prosecute his appeal at the Supreme Court and also appeals for the Judicial Service Commission to swiftly take corrective steps against the errant court officials.
He copied the petition to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Prosecutor General.
He prays that the Supreme Court nullifies and sets aside the High Court judgement on the grounds of unconstitutional conduct of the court.
Kereke is serving a seven-year jail term at Harare Central Prison following a conviction for raping a minor.
In his handwritten application lodged from his prison cell, Kereke is seeking urgent leave for audience in chambers with the judge president to present hard evidence allegedly proving criminal abuse of office by officers of the court handling his appeal.
Kereke alleges that key evidence in the judgement delivered by the court proving his innocence was tampered with and removed from the court record and substituted with falsified fresh evidence in the judgement delivered by the court on the 29th of May 2019.
He added that he applied for bail on changed circumstances in February 2018 and subsequently wrote to the court to set down the matter.
Kereke contends when judgement was eventually handed down he failed to appear in person as is constitutionally guaranteed under Section 70 of the Constitution.
As a result, he argues that these facts all prove that the court handled his appeal in an unfair manner, in violation of his right to a fair trial in contravention of Section 69 (1).
He has also lodged an urgent chamber application for leave to prosecute his appeal at the Supreme Court and also appeals for the Judicial Service Commission to swiftly take corrective steps against the errant court officials.
He copied the petition to the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and the Prosecutor General.
He prays that the Supreme Court nullifies and sets aside the High Court judgement on the grounds of unconstitutional conduct of the court.
Source - zbc
