HARARE - The Constitutional Court case between Bikita West Zanu PF MP Munyaradzi Kereke, who is seeking to push the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (Zacc) to investigate retired Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono on corruption charges, will now be heard after two weeks to allow the consolidation of the voluminous record.
Kereke’s lawyer James Makiya yesterday confirmed the development.
He said Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku had asked the parties involved to consolidate the 25 records with 1 000 pages each, into four volumes, after which they will inform the registrar for the matter to be set down for a hearing.
He said the parties involved had a case management meeting on Monday in order to map the way forward, pertaining to how they were to proceed with the matter.
The case had initially been set down for hearing today before the Constitutional Court.
This postponement comes after police chief Augustine Chihuri and prosecutor-general Johannes Tomana refused to be involved in Kereke’s suit against Gono.
The move snuffed out the brewing controversy for Kereke who wanted the prosecutor-general and the commissioner-general of the Zimbabwe Republic Police brought to his Constitutional Court suit, which contain untested graft allegations against Gono, allegedly committed during the time he was at the helm of the central bank.
Both Chihuri and Tomana unanimously rejected any participation in Kereke’s suit in papers lodged in the Constitutional Court last week, partly to avoid reputational harm that they feared could result from signing on, and that the suit has nothing to do with them.
Kereke has argued that the failure by Zacc to investigate allegations of abuse of office and corruption was unconstitutional, adding the anti-graft body has an obligation to receive and consider complaints from the public.
Kereke asked the Constitutional Court to declare Zacc’s refusal to investigate the matter unconstitutional and also order that Chihuri and Tomana brought into the proceedings.