Former Cabinet Minister Saviour Kasukuwere has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court against a court ruling announced earlier Wednesday, which nullified his candidacy for the presidential election next month.
According to the country’s law, after filing an appeal, the earlier High Court ruling is automatically suspended.
“We have noted the judgement of the High Court barring Kasukuwere from participating in the upcoming elections,” Jacqueline Sande, one of Kasukuwere’s lawyers who also serves as his spokesperson, said in a statement after the notice of appeal was filed on Wednesday.
“The judgement is regrettable as it compromises the integrity of the elections. Lots of issues are questionable and can’t be sustained by an appellate court,” she added.
Sande is also Kasukuwere’s chief election advisor.
Stayed away for over 18 months
Earlier in the day, Zimbabwe High Court Judge David Mangota barred Kasukuwere from running as a presidential candidate in the August 23, 2023 elections.
Briefing journalists after the judgement, Lewis Uriri, the counsel of Lovedale Mangwana, a citizen who challenged Kasukuwere’s candidacy, said the high court ordered Kasukuwere to stop masquerading as a presidential candidate in any way as he was no longer a registered voter.
Kasukuwere, who had filed his nomination papers to run for the presidency, is in exile in South Africa after he fled from Zimbabwe following a coup that toppled late former Zimbabwean President Mugabe.
“One of the qualifications of a candidate for the presidential election is that they ought to be registered as a registered voter and the law is that if you are not ordinarily resident in Zimbabwe for at least 18 months, then you are deemed to have ceased to be a registered voter,” Uriri said.
