Former Cabinet Minister Saviour Kasukuwere, who is currently in exile, has filed an application to cancel his 2019 arrest warrant in order to contest in the upcoming August 23 presidential race. Kasukuwere’s warrant was issued by a retired Harare magistrate after he failed to appear for trial on four counts of criminal abuse of office.
Kasukuwere’s lawyers, Mhishi and Nkomo Legal Practitioners, have argued that the warrant was issued in error and that it should be cancelled.
Kasukuwere, who was one of the leading figures in a faction called Generation40 during the late President Robert Mugabe’s era, appeared before the magistrate in November 2018 to answer to the charges, but he took exception to them, claiming they lacked essential elements of the offence of criminal abuse of duty. Although he initially lost his case, the High Court later ruled in his favour, upholding his application for exception and ordering the cancellation of the warrant of arrest.
Kasukuwere’s lawyers argue that the warrant has been rendered void by the High Court’s decision and that it should be cancelled. They have submitted that the warrant serves no purpose and that it should not remain in force. Although Kasukuwere has been in exile since 2017, he has shown his intention to challenge for the presidency.
In early 2020, the National Prosecuting Authority sought his extradition from South Africa but failed after Interpol claimed the issue was political.
