HARARE
–
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
has
appointed
a
tribunal
to
investigate
whether
High
Court
judge
Never
Katiyo
should
be
removed
from
office
over
allegations
of
gross
misconduct.
The
tribunal
will
be
chaired
by
retired
judge
Maphios
Cheda
and
will
also
include
legal
practitioners
Tafadzwa
Hungwe
and
Chaka
Mashoko.
This
follows
a
recommendation
from
the
Judicial
Service
Commission
(JSC),
which
advised
the
president
in
October
2025
that
the
matter
should
be
formally
investigated.
Delays
in
the
appointment
of
the
tribunal
had
angered
lawyers,
with
Beatrice
Mtetwa
writing
to
the
Attorney
General
in
January
this
year
stating
that
it
was
“undesirable
that
any
litigant
should
be
required
to
appear
before
a
judge
whose
conduct
has
been
found
sufficiently
concerning
for
the
JSC
to
recommend
a
tribunal.”
Mtetwa
said
her
firm
represents
a
litigant
in
a
High
Court
matter
in
which
Justice
Katiyo
allegedly
incorporated
into
a
judgement
matters
that
had
not
been
placed
before
the
court.
Although
the
JSC
acknowledged
receipt
of
the
complaint
in
2024
and
indicated
it
would
be
investigated,
no
outcome
was
communicated.
Katiyo
is
also
accused
of
issuing
a
fictitious
judgement
and
making
a
procedural
violation
in
a
politically
sensitive
case.
It
is
alleged
that
in
July
last
year,
the
judge
handed
down
a
fabricated
ruling
in
a
property
dispute
between
Bulgarian
company
Technoimpex
JSC
and
a
local
firm,
a
judgement
which
falsely
recorded
that
a
hearing
had
taken
place
and
that
senior
Advocate
Thabani
Mpofu
had
appeared
for
one
of
the
parties.
Mpofu
denied
ever
participating
in
the
case,
prompting
Katiyo
to
take
the
extraordinary
step
of
rescinding
his
own
judgement,
acknowledging
that
it
had
been
“erroneously
issued.”
The
withdrawal,
dated
August
7,
2025,
raised
serious
questions
about
judicial
integrity
and
due
process.
Barely
a
week
later,
the
same
judge
came
under
fresh
scrutiny
after
granting
the
National
Prosecuting
Authority
(NPA)
leave
to
appeal
in
a
politically
charged
case
before
the
deadline
to
file
opposing
papers
had
expired,
a
breach
of
court
rules
that
lawyers
described
as
“a
blatant
violation
of
procedure.”
The
case
involved
opposition
politician
Maureen
Kademaunga
and
several
others
who
were
acquitted
of
attacking
Zanu
PF
supporters
in
2024.
On
August
8,
2025,
Justice
Katiyo
granted
the
NPA’s
application
for
leave
to
appeal
four
days
after
it
was
filed,
despite
respondents
having
until
August
20
to
file
their
responses.
Legal
practitioners
said
the
ruling
“was
granted
in
error
and
to
the
prejudice
of
the
respondents,”
and
demanded
its
rescission
under
Rule
29(1)(a)
of
the
High
Court
Rules.
Mnangagwa,
in
a
notice
published
in
the
government
gazette
last
Friday,
said:
“I
do,
by
this
proclamation,
establish
a
Tribunal
to
inquire
into
the
question
of
removal
from
office
of
the
Honourable
Justice
Never
Katiyo.”
According
to
the
proclamation,
the
inquiry
will
run
for
five
months
from
the
date
the
members
are
sworn
in.
The
tribunal
must
then
submit
its
findings
to
the
president
within
a
month
after
completing
the
hearings.
Cheda’s
panel
will
also
look
into
whether
the
judge
attempted
to
frustrate
investigations
by
rescinding
a
judgement
after
receiving
a
memorandum
from
the
Chief
Justice.
Mnangagwa
said
the
tribunal
would
determine
whether
the
judge’s
conduct
amounts
to
gross
misconduct
and
whether
he
is
“fit
to
hold
office
in
the
light
of
the
foregoing.”
Under
Section
187
of
the
constitution,
a
judge
may
only
be
removed
from
office
for
inability
to
perform
duties
due
to
physical
or
mental
incapacity,
gross
incompetence
or
gross
misconduct.
The
inquiry
may
be
conducted
either
in
public
or
in
private
depending
on
what
the
tribunal
considers
appropriate.
Its
final
report
will
recommend
to
the
president
whether
Justice
Katiyo
should
remain
on
the
bench
or
be
removed
from
office.
Justice
Katiyo
was
controversially
appointed
a
judge
by
President
Mnangagwa
in
2021
after
allegedly
scoring
lowly
in
public
interviews
for
judges
conducted
by
the
JSC.
He
previously
worked
as
a
magistrate
in
Chinhoyi
and
was
legal
affairs
director
in
the
ministry
of
industry
and
commerce
immediately
before
his
appointment
as
a
judge.