Justice Phiri will hear the application on Wednesday 11 July 2018 at 10: am in Court K of the High
Court.
The prisoners namely Tungamirai Madzokere and Last Maengahama, who are currently serving
prison terms of 20 years each at the male and female sections at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison
after they were convicted last year for murdering a policeman want the High Court to issue an order
compelling Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwe
Electoral Commission (ZEC) Chairperson Justice Rita Makarau and ZEC as the elections management
body to register them on the national voters roll and facilitate their voting on election day.
Yvonne Musarurwa, who was also a prisoner until he was released under an amnesty early this year,
is the third applicant.
Their application has only been set down for hearing this month although they filed their petition in June 2017, more than a year ago.
In their application, Madzokere, Maengahama and Musarurwa argued that since the period that they
have been in prison detention, ZEC had neither carried out any voter education, including voter
registration nor enabled prisoners to cast their vote during the several by-elections which were held in the country to elect legislators.
The prisoners, who are represented by Jeremiah Bamu of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights,
argued that they were asserting their constitutional rights particularly the right to vote in elections and referendums as enshrined in Section 67 (3) (a) of the Constitution.
Musarurwa, Madzokere and Maengahama argued that it is common cause that Zimbabwe is due for
general elections in 2018 and they are entitled to exercise their political rights regardless of their status as detainees.