High Court judge Justice Esther Muremba recused herself from the case of Neville Mutsvangwa after she was summoned to State House to explain delays in the case, ZimLive reported.
Neville is the son of ZANU PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa and his wife Monica, who is the Women’s Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister.
Justice Muremba last week postponed the ruling on Mutsvangwa’s bail application to Monday, 27 May, because she had not received a full record of proceedings from the Magistrates Court.
Instead of delivering the ruling this Monday, Muremba said she was standing down from the matter “for personal reasons”.
The matter will now be allocated to a different judge.
According to ZimLive, Muremba informed the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) that she felt “intimidated” after being summoned to the State House on Wednesday last week.
Muremba was hauled before President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, and Neville’s mother, Monica.
The publication reported JSC sources as saying Mutsvangwa used the meeting to complain bitterly that the judge was mishandling the case.
Mnangagwa reportedly asked the judge to explain the status of the case. The judge allegedly said she had never been summoned to such a forum and she was uneasy. Said the source:
She still explained that the delay in delivering her ruling on the bail application was a result of receiving the record from the magistrates court late.
Mnangagwa listened to her explanation and concluded that her actions were above board.
He also said as a lawyer he respected the independence of the judiciary and the judge was excused.
The revelation that a judge was summoned by the president to discuss an ongoing case raises concerns in legal circles, as it seems to validate the notion that the judiciary is not independent of interference by ZANU PF elites.
Veteran lawyer David Coltart noted that it is highly uncommon for a judge to recuse themselves after hearing a case. He posted on X:
I am shocked by this. If the judge had personal reasons why she could not deal with the matter that should have been disclosed at the hearing itself and she should have recused herself then.
An accused person, who has been denied bail to date, now has to spend further time in custody whilst a new judge is allocated to the case.
If new reasons why the judge cannot deal with the matter have arisen since she first heard the matter, then those need to be disclosed to the accused’s counsel. Anything else is the antithesis of justice.
Neville (44) and his co-accused Elias Majachani and Simbarashe Tichingana are facing three criminal charges of illegal foreign currency dealings following their arrest on 08 May 2024.
He faces a separate charge of contravening the Postal and Telecommunications Act in that he was allegedly found in possession of an unlicensed Starlink router.
Mutsvangwa and his co-accused were denied bail by Harare magistrate Dennis Mangosi and appealed against the ruling at the High Court.
