Political Reporter

Legal analysts have said that former Zimbabwean Minister, Saviour Kasukuwere was wasting his time by appealing against the High Court judgement that annulled his presidential candidature yesterday.

The High Court ruled that Kasukuwere's presidential candidature violated Section 91 of the Constitution, which states that a person cannot be a candidate for presidency if they have been out of their constituency and country for 18 consecutive months.

Kasukuwere has been in self-imposed exile in South Africa since 2017 after being accused of corruption and abuse of office.

The legal analysts who spoke to this publication on condition of anonymity said that Kasukuwere, who was a law student himself, should have known better the triviality of challenging the High Court ruling. They said that he should not play the victim because the law was the law, regardless of one's political or social standing.

The analysts also said that it was still going to be difficult for Kasukuwere to contest the presidency, even if he were to win his appeal. This is because he has two outstanding warrants of arrest.

"Kasukuwere should accept the High Court ruling and move on," said one analyst. "He is not going to win his appeal, and even if he did, it would be difficult for him to contest the presidency with two warrants of arrest outstanding against him."

Another legal analyst said that Kasukuwere would be better off trying to mend bridges with the ZANU-PF party and re-joining the party as a card-carrying member.

"Kasukuwere should focus on rebuilding his political career," said another analyst. "He could do that by re-joining ZANU-PF and working his way up through the party ranks."

It remains to be seen whether Kasukuwere will heed the advice of the legal analysts. However, it seems clear that his chances of becoming president are slim, regardless of whether he wins his appeal or not.