On 8 February 2022, the Chivhu-based Pastor Mukaro dragged Justice,
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Hon. Ziyambi Ziyambi and
Attorney-General Advocate Prince Machaya to the High Court seeking an
order to set aside and declare as unconstitutional the requirement to
pay a 1% commission to the Registrar of the High Court.
Pastor Mukaro had the misfortune of being advised that he should pay
the Registrar of the High Court 1% of US$73 500, which is the amount
that he was claiming and which amounted to US$7 350 for service of
summons in which he in October 2021 sued Home Affairs and Cultural
Heritage Minister Hon. Kazembe Kazembe, Zimbabwe Republic Police
Commissioner-General Godwin Matanga and Detective Steven Dondo for
causing the death of his wife Sharai Mukaro. Sharai died in September
2021 from injuries sustained as a result of the severe assault and
torture inflicted upon her by Dondo and other ZRP officers in a
“Darkroom” at Chivhu Police Station, where she was detained after
being accused of stealing US$1 000.
In the application, Pastor Mukaro, who is represented by Sarudzayi
Njerere of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), argued that
requiring him to pay 1% of the total amount that he is claiming in a
legal action resulting from the death of her wife infringes and
deprives him of his right to equal benefit of the law.
The clergyman argued that allowing the Registrar of the High Court to
charge a commission on a claim, has the effect of shutting out poor
litigants out of court and it makes justice a commodity that can only
be accessed by those with deep pockets.
Pastor Mukaro wants the High Court to declare Item 2 of the High Court
(Fees) (Civil Cases) Regulations, 1992 published in the High Court
(Fees) (Civil Cases) (Amendment) Rules, 2020 (No.11) Statutory
Instrument 221 of 2020 as unconstitutional as it infringes his right
to equal benefit from the law as guaranteed in section 56(1) of the
Constitution as well as his right of access to the courts as provided
in section 69(3) of the Constitution.
Already, Chivhu Magistrate Henry Sande has faulted some ZRP officers
and ruled that foul play could have been committed which led to the
death of Sharai.
This came after Magistrate Sande presided over an inquest to establish
the cause of death of Sharai, which was only instituted after the
Mukaro family lawyer Tinashe Chinopfukutwa of ZLHR, initiated legal
proceedings.
Magistrate Sande ruled that there is a likelihood that the late Sharai
was assaulted by some police officers based at the Criminal
Investigations Department at ZRP Chivhu Police Station.