Ex-cop sues Mugabe, Chombo for unfair dismissal

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A FIRED former member of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), Peter Kurauwone Dube, has vowed to challenge his dismissal from work and eviction from his police camp residence after his initial application was removed from the High Court roll on a technicality late last month.

A FIRED former member of the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), Peter Kurauwone Dube, has vowed to challenge his dismissal from work and eviction from his police camp residence after his initial application was removed from the High Court roll on a technicality late last month.

BY SILAS NKALA

Dube had sued President Robert Mugabe, Police Commissioner-General Augustine Chihuri and Home Affairs minister Ignatius Chombo for contempt of court.

AUGUSTINE CHIHURI (3)

In an application filed on September 28, 2015, Dube accused the trio of defying a 2010 High Court order compelling the ZRP to reinstate him pending the finalisation of his appeal against unlawful dismissal.

On March 25, 2010, High Court judge, Justice Nicholas Ndou granted Dube an order under case number HC 1673/09, compelling the then Public Service Commission to reinstate him.

Chihuri applied for rescission of judgment and Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Lawrence Kamocha granted the rescission application on February 16, 2011.

Dube said the rescission application was granted erroneously under case number HC 78/11 before condonation under case number HC 77/11 and Chihuri was not in good standing to file the application, since the first respondent in the matter was Mugabe, not him.

Following the rescission of judgment of case number HC 1673/09 through HC 78/11, Dube filed an application challenging the ruling by Justice Kamocha.

The matter was set down before Justice Martin Makonese on December 17, 2015, who declined to hear the matter, saying he was not able to reverse the order granted by another judge.

Dube said following removal of the case from the roll on December 21, 2015, he was evicted from his police camp residence.

“Next week I want to make my submissions on why I am challenging the order granted to the commissioner. He (Chihuri) is not qualified to apply in this case because he is not cited as the first respondent. He is not constitutionally in control of the commissioned officers, only the President is in control, and his application for rescission of judgment was defective,” he said.

Dube said only Mugabe or the Attorney-General should have made the application.

He accused the respondents of misleading the court into believing that the condonation order was granted under case number 77/11 and that they had served him with the chamber application for rescission of judgment in accordance with the law when they did not.