Affidavit blunder sinks ex-cop’s court bid to challenge dismissal
A FORMER Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officer’s challenge against dismissal has collapsed after the High Court struck off his opposing affidavit and ruled that his own application was filed too late and had no merit. William Nengwekuru took the Police Service Commission and the Commissioner-General of Police to court, seeking a review of the decision […] The post Affidavit blunder sinks ex-cop’s court bid to challenge dismissal appeared first on NewZimbabwe.com.
Black News 
A FORMER Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officer’s challenge against dismissal has collapsed after the High Court struck off his opposing affidavit and ruled that his own application was filed too late and had no merit.
William Nengwekuru took the Police Service Commission and the Commissioner-General of Police to court, seeking a review of the decision upholding his discharge from the force.
He was discharged after disciplinary proceedings in which he was found guilty of misconduct, a finding he later challenged through an internal appeal that was dismissed by the commission.
But Justice Joel Mambara sitting at the Harare High Court found that the matter had fatal procedural defects long before its substance could help him.
The court struck out the respondents’ opposing affidavit after it emerged that it had been commissioned by a police legal officer employed by the first respondent.
“Attesting an affidavit for his employer in a dispute of this nature creates a direct conflict with the requirement of impartiality,” Mambara held.
He added that the law barred any commissioner of oaths who has “any involvement or advantage in the proceedings” from administering such affidavits.
With the affidavit gone, the case stood unopposed but that did not save the applicant.
Mambara said Nengwekuru’s review application was lodged out of time, noting that under Rule 62(4) of the High Court Rules a review must be filed within eight weeks of the decision being challenged.
Nengwekuru was notified of the failed appeal on 1 April 2025, meaning he had until 27 May. Instead, he approached the court in mid-June. “The applicant’s review was instituted out of time and, absent an application for extension, the matter is not properly before the court,” he said.
Nengwekuru’s lawyer had argued that because the case invoked section 68 of the Constitution the right to administrative justice strict time limits should not apply.
But the judge rejected this outright. “The Constitution does not give a litigant carte blanche to ignore procedural rules,” he ruled, stressing that anyone vindicating constitutional rights must still follow proper court procedures unless those rules themselves are unconstitutional.
Even so, Justice Mambara went on to assess the merits “for completeness” and found nothing to rescue the case. Despite the lack of opposition, he said the court was “not satisfied that the applicant is entitled to the relief sought.”
The former officer had not shown any irregularity, bias, illegality or unfairness in the disciplinary process or in the Commission’s decision dismissing his appeal.
Nengwekuru had complained of the delay in receiving the outcome of his internal appeal, but the judge said this alone was insufficient. “The delay, while unfortunate, has not been shown to prejudice the applicant’s rights in a manner that would justify setting aside the decision,” he explained.
In the end, the court found the application defective on all fronts procedurally out of time and substantively unsupported. “For all the foregoing reasons, the application cannot succeed.
The former police officer was ordered to pay the costs of the failed bid.
The post Affidavit blunder sinks ex-cop’s court bid to challenge dismissal appeared first on NewZimbabwe.com.
