HIGH Court judge Justice Joseph Chilimbe has delivered a blow to former colleague, Justice Erica Ndewere on her application against the involvement of Judicial Service Commission (JSC) secretary Walter Chikwana as she fights to keep her service vehicle.
JSC had written to Ndewere’s lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa asking
the former judge to surrender her official vehicle following her dismissal.
But Ndewere through her lawyer said she was entitled to buy
the vehicle and asked JSC to process her terminal benefits procedurally,
including her pension and annual leave days. JSC then applied to the High Court
to repossess the car.
However, Ndewere challenged Chikwana’s involvement and
posed the question whether Chikwanha had the authority to take Ndewere to court
without a JSC meeting having made that decision.
But in his ruling, Chilimbe said Chikwana’s authority to
institute proceedings independently from his statutory responsibilities was not
pronounced by the respondent and such a finding should not be presumed.
"In that regard, if this court, together with the
Supreme Court and Constitutional Court found the resolution valid for such
grave constitutional measure, then surely the same resolution should suffice
for purposes of a significantly lesser contest over the asset.
“Having considered the arguments submitted on behalf of the
JSC, I find no substance in the challenge to the validity of the JSC
resolution, and the subsequent deposition of the founding affidavit by
Chikwanha, such validity to institute the present proceedings, having been
established and confirmed by this court, the Supreme Court and Constitutional
Court.
“Accordingly, I order, that the preliminary objections
missed by the respondent be and are hereby disallowed with costs in the cause,”
Justice Chilimbe ruled.
Justice Chilimbe also ruled that Mtetwa raised a point that
the Chief Justice and the Deputy Chief Justice ought to have recused themselves
from the JSCs proceedings of June 6, 2019, which resolved to authorise Chikwana
to institute the present proceedings, the reason for such recusal being that
the Chief Justice and his deputy had been involved in proceedings leading to
her removal from office.
Chilimbe ruled that Ndewere should have furnished the court
with evidence to support such a claim. Newsday
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