Former First Lady Grace Mugabe’s appeal to have an order declaring the remains of her late former president Robert Mugabe exhumed be reviewed technically has been thrown out again by a Chinhoyi magistrate.
Grace gave her daughter Bona, powers of attorney to represent her in the court case in which she wants the late Chief Zvimba’s order that Mugabe be exhumed for reburied at the National Heroes Acre be canceled.
In her appeal application the former First Lady wanted Chief Zvimba’s order to be suspended because he served the papers at Mugabe’s Borrowdale mansion instead of his rural Zvimba home.
She also added that the chief ordered her to pay a fine with cattle that are not in his area of jurisdiction.
On Tuesday, magistrate Ruth Moyo said Bona had no right to apply for judicial review of the ruling that was handed down by Chief Zvimba in the case between Grace and Tinos Manongovere.
This is the second defeat suffered by Mugabe’s family in the case following another dismissal of the same application which was made by Bona, Tinotenda Robert Jnr and Bellarmine to suspend Chief Zvimba’s ruling.
“An application must be deposed on the basis of the funding affidavit’ in casu, the court has a determination that when Bona Mutsahuni filed the founding affidavit, she had no authority at law to do so,” part of Moyo’s ruling read.
“The special power of attorney was executed on July 27, 20 days after the application was filed and has no retrospective effect. The court will not deal with all other points.”
Fungai Chimwamurombe, Grace’s lawyer said the family was not happy with the ruling and would appeal.
“Obviously, we are not happy with this ruling as it disregards the power of attorney given to Bona by her mother since she was out of the country,” Chimwamurombe said.
Mugabe died in September 2019 in Singapore from prostate cancer. He was buried at his Kutama rural home after the family resisted President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government plans to bury him at the national shrine.
