Supreme Court Has Dismissed Kasukuwere's Appeal Against Disqualification From Presidential Election

Saviour Kasukuwere‘s appeal against the High Court’s decision to disqualify him from the August 23 election has been dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Kasukuwere’s lawyer, chief election agent and spokesperson, Jackie Sande, stated that the court ruled that the appeal lacked merit but did not provide reasons for the dismissal. Sande added: 

However, our legal team had prepared sufficient contingent plans which we will avail to you in due course. We will be calling a press conference to update you on the next plan, on the way forward coming from this. This is definitely not the end of the road. We are still persisting with the fight to be included, to see president Saviour Kasukuwere included on that ballot. 

Some context:

Saviour Kasukuwere’s bid for the 2023 presidential race was thwarted after the High Court disqualified him on the grounds of being out of the country for over 18 months.

On July 12, High Court judge Justice David Mangota, granted an application by a ZANU PF activist, Lovedale Mangwana, to have Kasukuwere disqualified. Mangwana had argued that Kasukuwere’s lengthy absence from Zimbabwe warranted his name being removed from the roll of voters, effectively preventing him from running in the election. Kasukuwere went into self-exile in 2017 when the late former president, Robert Mugabe, was ousted from power. 

The High Court’s decision to disqualify Kasukuwere, a former Local Government minister, has been met with controversy, with some questioning the legality of barring a candidate on such grounds.

Kasukuwere appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which dismissed his appeal for lacking merit. 

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