Chombo Remains “Passportless”

Efforts by former Cabinet minister Ignatius Chombo to get his passport back to enable him to travel abroad, yesterday were fruitless after the court dismissed the application.

Chombo, who is facing criminal abuse of office and fraud charges, surrendered his passport to the clerk of court as part of his bail conditions following his arrest.

However, he recently made an application for the temporary release of his passport through one of his many records on the basis that he needed to travel to South Africa for medical attention.

The application was granted and the passport was released.

Chombo last week approached the court arguing that his passport was taken from him by an unknown person at the airport and found its way back to the clerk of court, forcing him to abort the journey.

Through his lawyers, Professor Lovemore Madhuku and Tungamirai Muganhiri, Chombo made an application for “mandamus” to compel the clerk of the court to release the said passport as per the court order.

On the application made by Chombo, the court ruled that the application for mandamus was misplaced.

He said the proper application to make was contempt of court against the said officer who ceased the application.

He said the clerk of court obeyed the court’s order when the passport was released.

-herald