Reinstate appeal: Biti

that was dismissed last month.
Biti is challenging a decision by the High Court that held his arrest and detention on treason charges in 2008 lawful.
The MDC-T secretary general has since been removed from remand on the charges in question, but he insists on having the appeal heard.
Deputy Chief Justice Luke Malaba dismissed the appeal on February 7 this year after the minister and his lawyers failed to attend the appeal hearing.
In the application for reinstatement of the appeal, Biti’s lawyer Ms Sarudzai Njerere argued that the notice of set down was defective and that the appeal should be reinstated. Ms Njerere urged the Supreme Court to order the registrar to reset the matter for another date.
In the application Ms Njerere said the notice of set down was defective in that the dates were contrasting.
She said the appeal hearing had been set for “Tuesday February 7” when the 7th was on a Monday. It was also stated in Ms Njerere’s founding affidavit that a receptionist at her law firm who received the notice of set down made a mistake by not giving it to the lawyers.
The receptionist also deposed an affidavit confirming an error on his part.
“It is clear that a monumental and regrettable error occurred and I entreat this Honourable Court to reinstate the appeal.
“It is embarrassing that administrative bungling has necessitated this application, burdening our already overburdened court. I must state that applicant did not willfully default. We have already filed heads of argument we have counsel ready to argue the matter,” said Ms Njerere.
Meanwhile the Attorney General’s Office has written to the Registrar of the Supreme Court requesting for the court’s full reasons for dismissal of the appeal before responding to the reinstatement application.
When Biti’s lawyers failed to attend the appeal hearing last month, law officer Mr Edmore Nyazamba successfully applied for the appeal to be dismissed. Mr Nyazamba submitted that the minister seemed not to take the matter seriously considering that his appeal heads of argument had taken long to be filed.
Justice Samuel Kudya delivered the contested High Court judgment in June 2008. Justice Kudya found that the State relied on a warrant of apprehension when they held Biti in police custody for more than 48 hours without taking him to court.
The High Court ruled that the 48-hour issue only applied to suspects who would have been arrested without a warrant of apprehension. Biti was arrested on the strength of a warrant of apprehension signed by a provincial magistrate.
He stayed in custody for days before being taken to court for initial remand. His lawyers filed an urgent application at the High Court seeking an order declaring his arrest and detention unlawful.
After the dismissal of the chamber application, he was placed on remand and later freed while the appeal was still pending at the Supreme Court. – CR.