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Nyore Madzianike–Senior Court Reporter
BUSINESSMAN Frank Buyanga Sadiqi has approached the High Court seeking a review of a Harare magistrates’ decision to issue him with a warrant of arrest saying the lower court had no powers to make such determination since he was staying outside the country and beyond the court’s area of jurisdiction.
Buyanga, in his application prepared by lawyer Mr Admire Rubaya, want the High Court to set aside the magistrate’s decision arguing that the lower court erred when it entertained the application made by police with a lower rank.
He argued that the application for issuance of his warrant of arrest was not supposed to have been made by a police sergeant, but an inspector or assistant inspector as required by law.
The warrant of arrest was issued on April 22, 2020 under Waterfalls CR495/03/20 and CID Law and Order DR07/04/20.
Buyanga cited the provincial magistrate, Prosecutor General andCommissioner General of Police as respondents.
“The first respondent’s (magistrate) decision to grant an application for a warrant of applicant’s arrest in the circumstances where the applicant was known to be outside the first respondent’s (magistrate) area of jurisdiction is grossly irregular as the first respondent did not have jurisdiction to grant a warrant of arrest for someone outside the jurisdiction of the court,” reads Buyanga’s application.
“The first respondent’s decision to grant an application for a warrant of arrest against applicant in the circumstances where the application was made by a detective sergeant is illegal as the decision made outside the framework of the empowering law and applying the wrong criteria.
“The first respondent failed to judiciously exercise the discretion in that she arrogated to herself jurisdiction to adjudicate over an application for a warrant of arrest against the applicant in terms of Section 33(1)(c) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act in circumstances where a magistrate should only entertain an application by a police officer who is of or above the rank of an inspector and/ or from an assistant inspector, who happens to be one in charge of a police station yet the deponent to the application for a warrant of arrest is Lilybirth Ndlovu, a mere sergeant in the Zimbabwe Republic Police,” he said.
Buyanga said the police knew that he was not in the country when they made an application for issuance of a warrant of arrest.
He said the magistrate who granted the application also knew that court’s territorial jurisdiction was limited to Harare Metropolitan Province.
Online Reporter