Zimbabwe's Supreme Court has dismissed an application filed by Finance Minister Tendai Biti in which he claimed he was illegally detained for treason and prematurely declaring victory for his party in the 2008 elections.
Biti was detained for more than six days without charges filed. He wanted the Supreme Court to annul a judgment by High Court Judge Samuel Kudya’s concluding that his prolonged detention was lawful.
The treason charge emanates from a document in allegedly written by Biti entitled “The Transition Strategy.” The charges were dropped after he was appointed Finance Minister.
Biti’s lawyer, Lewis Uriri, said the Supreme Court dismissed Biti's case against police officials including Assistant Commissioner Wilfred Matema because court papers were not filed on time, but his client would appeal.
Commenting on the case, attorney Job Sibanda of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights told reporter Chris Gande it could be years before an appeal to Supreme Court of one of its own decisions is handed down.