Supreme Court snubs Kuruneri bail appeal after lawyers' error

Supreme Court snubs Kuruneri bail appeal after lawyers' error

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By Zvamaida Murwira

JAILED Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Chris Kuruneri will have to stay a little longer in remand prison after the Supreme Court yesterday declined to hear an appeal against a High Court ruling denying him bail.

Supreme Court judge, Justice Elizabeth Gwaunza, declined to hear the appeal saying the minister’s defence counsel was not properly constituted before the court because they had not sought leave at the High Court to appeal against the lower court’s decision.

This means Kuruneri’s lawyers will have to go back to the High Court and make another application to seek leave to appeal and should the application fail, they would have to appeal to the Supreme Court against the lower court’s decision to deny them leave to appeal before they make the actual appeal for bail.

The State, led by Joseph Jagada of the Attorney General’s Office, indicated that the State would oppose the application.

High Court judge, Justice Ben Hlatshwayo dismissed the bail application last month saying if Kuruneri is released on bail he could evade trial.

The judge said the prosecution had a solid case against Kuruneri on the three of the five charges the minister is facing which could tempt him to flee the country.

On the charge of contravening a section of the Citizenship of Zimbabwe Act, arising from his alleged possession of two passports, Hlatshwayo said Kuruneri was likely to stand trial because the possible penalty might not be that severe and that the evidence against him was not so much stronger than his defence. Allegations against Kuruneri, who was arrested in April, arose between 2002 and 2004 after he allegedly externalised US$1 million, 37 000 British pounds and
30 000 euros.

The State alleges that he illegally externalised the funds to South Africa where he is constructing a property in Cape Town, which he said was worth “only 7 million Rands and not 30 million Rands.”

He is being represented by David Drury of Gollop and Blank legal practitioners.
From the Daily Mirror
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