Lawyers representing the family of the late former President Robert Mugabe have filed an appeal against a ruling by a magistrate that they could not challenge an order issued by a traditional chief to exhume the remains of Zimbabwe’s founding father for reburial at the National Heroes Acre.
In an application filed on Tuesday at the High Court,
Chimwamurombe Legal Practice, representing Mugabe’s children — Bona, Robert Jnr
and Bellarmine, said Chinhoyi magistrate Ruth Moyo had misdirected herself when
she dismissed their appeal.
Last Friday, Moyo ruled that the children had no locus
standi to challenge Chief Zvimba’s order to exhume Mugabe’s remains because
they were not part of proceedings at the traditional leader’s court. Chief
Zvimba, born Stanley Wurayayi Mhondoro, ruled that Mugabe’s remains should be
exhumed and buried by July 1, 2021
“The learned magistrate of the court aquo made an error at
law and misdirected herself when she dismissed the appeal from the community
court after incorrectly and erroneously interpreted section 24 (1) of the
Customary Law and Local Courts Act to only allow the right of appeal from a
community court to parties that were part of the proceedings before Chief,” the
appeal read in part.
Mugabe’s daughter. Bona, is the executor of his estate. The
lawyers want the appeal to be allowed with costs and have the magistrate’s
ruling be set aside.
Mugabe died in Singapore in September 2019, two years after
his military chiefs removed him from office and his Zanu PF party replaced him
with long-time ally, Emmerson Mnangagwa.
The government pushed for Mugabe to be buried at the
national shrine but his family said the once feared leader had asked to be
buried at his Kutama home. Before his death, Mugabe vowed that he did not want
his “tormentors” to lead his funeral.
Construction of a mausoleum to bear his grave is, however,
underway at the national shrine where many of Mugabe’s political peers are
buried. Newsday
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