HIGH Court Justice Pisirai Kwenda has dismissed an urgent chamber application by George Katsimberis who was seeking to stop his fraud trial before Harare regional magistrate Vongai Muchuchuti who he also wants excused from hearing his matter.
Katsimberis approached the High Court complaining that he is bound to be prejudiced if the trial continues before his concerns are addressed. The businessman wants Muchuchuti recused from his trial for being biased and having conflict of interest after she was sued for defamation by his lawyers.
The magistrate dismissed his application for recusal, and aggrieved, he mounted an application for review which is still pending at the High Court. He is also demanding a Greek interpreter, insisting that he is not conversant with English. In a brief High Court order, Justice Pisirayi Kwenda dismissed his application.
“Whereupon, after reading documents filed of record and hearing counsel, it is ordered that the application be and is hereby struck off with no order as to costs,” ruled the judgement.
A full judgement is not yet available. Katsimberis is represented by his lawyer Advocate Tinomuda Chinyoka who is taking instructions from Messrs Mutumbwa Mugabe and Partners. According to court papers, his lawyer has been unwell for some time.
In his fraud case, Katsimberis was making an application for referral of his case to the Constitutional Court. On the night prior to the February 14 hearing, Chinyoka’s health deteriorated. On that day, Millicent Moyo from Mutumbwa Mugabe and Partners appeared in court seeking postponement.
A letter had been delivered to the prosecutor that Chinyoka had travelled to South Africa for medication hence the request for a postponement. The magistrate however said the trial would commence and it continued. Katsimberis complained that proceedings were done in English despite his request to have a Greek interpreter.
Chinyoka later showed up during afternoon proceedings despite that Moyo had indicated that he would be traveling to South Africa. This did not go down well with the magistrate who chastised the lawyers for lying.
“The problem the court finds with the submissions is that in the morning it was submitted that Advocate Chinyoka actually travelled to South Africa last night and he is receiving treatment which apparently is not the correct position as we have Advocate Chinyoka before the court and he is still in the country and has appeared before the court.
“He explained that there could have been some communication breakdown but still for the counsel who appeared in the morning to categorically state that Advocate Chinyoka is in South Africa yet he is still in the country is wrong and should not be allowed.
Legal Practitioners are officers of the court and make sure that proper facts are always placed before the court. So there is always due diligence upon the shoulders of each legal practitioner to make sure that the information they give the court is always true failure to do that which borders unprofessionalism,” said the magistrate.
Following the ruling, the issue was extensively covered in the media and the lawyers were under-fire by the Law society. The lawyer has sued the magistrate US$290 000 for defamation and injurious falsehoods respectively.
Source NewZimbabwe
