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Senior Court Reporter
A bid by the National Prosecuting Authority to have MDC-T deputy national chairperson Morgan Komichi jailed has spilled into the Supreme Court.The State last Thursday sought permission at the apex court to contest a High Court decision barring it from filing an appeal against the 350 hours community service imposed on Komichi for breaching the Electoral Act.
Komichi was last year ordered to perform community service for fraudulently obtaining a special voting ballot paper which he marked, sealed and reopened.
The State, which views the sentence as too lenient, on February 7 this year filed a chamber application for leave to appeal against the dismissal of their application for condonation of late filing of papers in the main appeal against the sentence.
Chief law officer Mr Michael Mugabe, on behalf of the State, said he received a copy of the transcribed record of proceedings from the magistrates’ court after the 10-day period granted for filing an appeal had lapsed.
His application for condonation of late filing at the High Court was thrown out on January 29. The High Court ruled that the delay was self-induced and there were no prospects of success in the appeal.
Mr Mugabe approached the Supreme Court seeking to reverse the High Court decision and the matter is yet to be set down for hearing.
Komichi was sentenced to eight months in jail for fraud and another 10 months for contravening Section 85(1) (e) of the Electoral Act.
The eight months were suspended while the remaining 10 months were set aside on condition he performed 350 hours of community service.
The Prosecutor-General’s Office said the magistrate imposed a light sentence after finding that the offence committed was very serious.
Komichi’s actions were viewed as part of MDC-T’s efforts to discredit the harmonised elections which it lost dismally to Zanu-PF.
After the elections, the party approached various courts, but failed to provide evidence to back its claims of electoral fraud.
Komichi’s case was thus largely seen as an attempt to make a case for the alleged rigging.
The magistrate Mr Mahwe considered that Komichi’s actions had potentially far reaching consequences. Facts are that on July 25 at Harare International Conference Centre, Komichi approached ZEC’s Tendayi Pamire to get audience with the electoral body’s chair, Justice Rita Makarau, saying a ballot envelope for special voting had been found in a rubbish bin outside the National Command Centre.
Komichi accused ZEC of destroying ballot papers belonging to members of the uniformed forces who voted for MDC-T.
The envelope in question belonged to policeman Constable Mugove Chiginya, who failed to vote at a Mt Pleasant polling station.
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