Mnangagwa nemesis Sybeth Musengezi fights Goodson Nguni joinder

HARARE – A Zanu PF activist seeking to overturn President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s ascendency to the Zanu PF leadership says he will appeal a decision by the Harare High Court to join another party member, Goodson Nguni, in the court proceedings.

Justice Mary Zimba-Dube, the judge president, on Wednesday allowed Nguni to be joined in the proceedings.

Now lawyers for Sybeth Musengezi, who argues that Mnangagwa is illegitimate, say they will file an appeal.

“The decision to join in strangers in this application is outrageous in its lack of logic,” said Musengezi’s lawyer, Nqobani Sithole, said on Wednesday.

“My instructions are to appeal the ruling that was made on Tuesday, to have Goodson Nguni and his trust joining in these proceedings simply because at that material time (2017) Nguni was head of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, a constitutional body that is apolitical.

“Nguni cannot be saying that his experience at ZACC as an investigator has a bearing on this case. ZACC and Zanu PF both start with Z, but that does not mean they are the same institution.

“Then the second issue is that there is a trust (Federation of Non-Governmental Organisations) that has been joined in, a trust that has nothing to do with Zanu PF issues and we don’t know why that trust is part of proceedings. We have a problem with that, so we want the superior courts to test that.”

Sithole has asked the High Court to allow TV cameras to beam proceedings when the matter starts, and the High Court has postponed ruling on the request.

The trial is expected to start on October 3, but it could now be delayed if an appeal is lodged.

Musengezi launched a challenge against Mnangagwa’s legitimacy last year arguing that the Zanu PF leader illegally assumed power following a military coup that ousted former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017.

If successful, the court challenge could torpedo Mnangagwa’s presidency, but legal commentators question if Zimbabwe’s judiciary is sufficiently independent to deliver such a verdict.

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