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Fidelis Munyoro

Chief Court Reporter

The High Court has dismissed with costs an urgent application by suspended High Court judge, Justice Erica Ndewere challenging the legality of the tribunal appointed to probe her suitability to continue in office.

The embattled judge had approached the High Court asking for an order to set aside the tribunal that was appointed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa on November 5, 2020 to inquire into allegations of misconduct levelled against her.

But Justice Sunley Zisengwe threw out the application for lack of merit, finding that the judge’s contention that she should have been subjected to the Code of Ethics first before being hauled to a tribunal. “The application has therefore failed to surmount the first hurdle rendering it unnecessary to interrogate the remaining requirements for an interim interdict,” said the judge dismissing the application….More to follow

Justice Ndewere inquiry is underway before a three-member tribunal led by retired judge Justice Simbi Mubako.

She is denying the allegations of gross misconduct in the performance of her duties, including failure to clear her workload in reasonable time and failure to properly study the file on a thief’s conviction and sentence when she set aside a jail term.

But in her defence, Justice Ndewere is accusing Chief Justice Luke Malaba of pursuing her after she defied his unlawful orders.

The Constitution provides that a judge may be removed from office for inability to perform the functions of his or her office, due to mental or physical incapacity, or gross incompetence, or gross misconduct.