Two Zimbabwe Republic Police officers sentenced to spend 14 days at Chikurubi Maximum Prison failed to halt the punishment after the High Court rejected their application.
Sergeant Talent Lazarus Tausen and Constable Edwin Dewa were convicted through internal disciplinary proceedings after being accused of accepting US$370 (about R6,071) from Alice Chikumba, the mother of an arrested suspect.
According to The Herald, Chikumba had approached the officers after her son, Sydney Muchongoyo, was arrested over the alleged theft of a bag from an Inter Africa bus.
High Court rejects police officers’ review bid
The officers had already appealed internally, but their appeal was dismissed. They then approached the Mutare High Court seeking a stay of execution while they pursued a review of the disciplinary proceedings.
Their lawyers argued that serving the detention before the review was decided could cause harm that could not later be reversed. They also questioned the interests of witnesses relied upon during the disciplinary proceedings.
The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP), represented by the Attorney General’s Civil Division, opposed the application.
The State argued that the review had been filed outside the permitted period and that the officers were effectively raising grounds of appeal rather than review.
Justice Sijabuliso Siziba agreed with the State’s position.
Judge highlights eight-week deadline
The judge found that the review application was defective because it had been filed more than 20 weeks after the disciplinary proceedings ended on 13 January 2026.
Justice Siziba said: “The application for review … is invalid because it is out of time and no condonation was sought.”
He further noted that the rules require a review to be filed within eight weeks of the termination of the proceedings concerned.
The judge therefore dismissed the application for a stay of execution because it depended on the defective review application.
What happens next for the officers?
The ruling leaves the 14-day Chikurubi detention order in place, based on the information published by The Herald on 25 September 2026.
The case also highlights the importance of complying with procedural deadlines when challenging disciplinary decisions through the courts.
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