High Court nullifies cancellation of Buyanga warra...

High Court nullifies cancellation of Buyanga warrant of arrest

Zim Now Writer

The High Court has nullified the cancellation of an arrest warrant for South Africa-based businessman, Frank Buyanga Sadiqi.

The dismissal of the cancellation was issued after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) challenged Harare magistrate Judith Taruvinga’s judgment that cancelled the warrant of arrest, arguing that she erred in her ruling.

High Court judge Justice Pisirayi Kwenda said Taruvinga was wrong in concluding that Buyanga was unlawfully arrested.

“In a masterstroke, she overturned two judgments of the superior courts. She failed to appreciate the difference between the procedure of setting aside an irregular proceeding and cancellation of an order.

“An irregular proceeding is a proceeding contrary to the law and is, thus, a nullity. Such a proceeding is a money event in the eyes of the law, it cannot be cancelled.

“It can only be set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction. When the magistrate thought she was merely cancelling a warrant of arrest, she was in fact setting aside her previous order thereby reviewing her own work,” Justice Kwenda said.

Meanwhile Kwenda has revealed that Buyanga’s legal practitioners have threatened to remove him from the review process.

Buyanga was arrested in South Africa on charges of child trafficking, forgery, contempt of court and immigration law violations.