Mphoko loses Supreme Court appeal

The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal by former Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko, who was challenging the rejection of his discharge application by both the magistrate and the High Court. Mphoko faces charges of criminal abuse of office for allegedly ordering the release of two former Zinara bosses held on fraud allegations at Avondale Police Station in 2016.

With the appeal dismissed, Mphoko is set to return to court for the continuation of his trial.

"The Supreme Court of Zimbabwe today dismissed an appeal by the former Vice President of Zimbabwe, Phelekezela Mphoko," stated the prosecution. 
"He was challenging the decision by the lower court, which upheld a Harare Magistrate's ruling to dismiss his application for discharge at the close of the State's case."
The Supreme Court found that the appeal lacked merit.

It is alleged that while serving as Vice President, Mphoko unlawfully ordered the release of Moses Julius Juma and Davison Norupiri, ZINARA executives, from police custody. He even drove them in his car, despite their scheduled court appearance the next day. Attempts by the station's officer in charge to prevent this were unsuccessful.