The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed an appeal filed by President Robert Mugabe challenging a High Court decision directing him to gazette a date for by-elections in three parliamentary constituencies in Matabeleland Provinces and ordered him to issue a notice announcing the vacancies in the constituencies by the end of August.

From our top partner, Voice of the People

President Mugabe had appealed against part of Justice Nicholas Ndou’s ruling granted in October 2011 ordering the ZANU PF leader to ensure by-elections for Nkayi South, Bulilima East and Lupane East were conducted as they were constitutionally long overdue.

But on Thursday Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku issued an operative part of the Supreme Court judgment (the order) dismissing President Mugabe’s appeal and ordering him to publish in the Government Gazette “a notice ordering new elections to fill the vacancies as soon as possible but by no later than 30 August 2012.”

The appeal was heard last Thursday by Chief Justice Chidyausiku, Judge of Appeal (JA) Justice Vernanda Ziyambi, JA Paddington Garwe, JA Anne-Mary Gowora and Acting Judge of Appeal Justice Yunus Omerjee.

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