Mnangagwa Tells Musengezi To "Withdraw" His Legitimacy Court Application
President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s lawyers want ZANU PF activist Sybeth Musengezi to withdraw his High Court application challenging the party leader’s ascendancy to power or risk his lawyers being sued.
Musengezi approached the courts in October challenging ZANU PF central committee processes that propelled Mnangagwa to the presidency of the party the ouster of the late former President Robert Mugabe in November 2017.
In a letter to Musengezi’s lawyers, Ncube Attorneys, dated November 11, Mnangagwa said Musengezi should withdraw the case or his lawyers would be sued for approaching the courts with a case “devoid of merit and brought for ulterior motives”. Said Mnangagwa’s lawyers Edwin Manikai of Dube, Manikai and Hwacha Legal Practitioners:
It is, therefore, advisable for your client to withdraw his application unconditionally at this stage, tendering wasted costs, to avoid further abuse of process and privilege and forcing the respondents to incur additional costs defending this spurious and vexatious matter.
In the event of your client not heeding this clarion call, our clients would be left with no other alternative, but to seek cost de bonis propriis (pay costs from your own pocket) against you, on the basis and grounds that your client is facing primarily legal and supremely incontrovertible contestation, proceeding further would be evidence of gross negligence, and with respect, frivolous action in the advice rendered to your client.
This proposal is open for acceptance by your client and yourselves within seven days of the date of this letter, after which it should be treated as having been withdrawn and of no force and effect, unless extended prior to the expiry. In the event, our clients would be placing a copy of this letter before the honourable court in motivation of the prayer for cost de bonis propriis.
Musengezi’s lawyer Nqobani Sithole laughed off the letter yesterday.
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