HARVEST HOUSE WAR: High Court Reserves Judgement

In diametric contrast to its earlier ruling insinuating that the opposition MDC Alliance is not a ‘legal persona’ with powers to sue or be sued, the High Court has reserved judgement in an urgent application in which the main opposition is contesting the violent eviction from its Harvest House headquarters in central Harare by a camp led by MDC-T leader Thokozani Khupe.

A couple of weeks ago on a Thursday night, youths aligned to Khupe, with the assistance of armed state security details invaded Harvest House, resulting in the Nelson Chamisa-led opposition losing its Harvest House citadel, now known as Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House.

The dramatic move was precipitated by a Justice Tawanda Chitapi ruling which literally debased the main opposition to a group of like-minded political personalities who coalesced for purposes of participating in the 2018 elections, but with no powers to sue or be sued as the ‘grouping’ is not legally constituted.

In its latest bid, the MDC Alliance is being represented by prominent lawyer, Alec Muchadehama.

The applicants in the matter are MDC-A and Charlton Hwende who are suing MDC-T, Khupe, Douglas Mwonzora, the Ministry of Defence and War Veterans and the Commissioner General of Police, Godwin Matanga.

High Court judge Justice David Mangota presided over the matter.

In his submissions, Muchadehama who was seeking a spoliation order declaring the June 4 takeover of Harvest House as illegal and restoration of the premises occupation to MDC-A, said the presence of the police and the army during the grab was testimony to the fact that the takeover was not peaceful.

However, the police and the army have distanced themselves from the Khupe seizure of Harvest House, with the police saying their duty was only to ensure compliance with Covid19 regulations while the army contends that it never deployed any military personnel on the night of the MDC Alliance eviction.

Agencies
Additional Reporting: Zwnews