High Court Judge Justice Jacob Manzunzu has removed from the court roll Mrs Farai Chidyausiku (nee Kunaka), the widow of national hero Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku’s case to allow the lawyers to put their papers in order.
Justice Manzunzu said the hearing could not proceed since there was no order granted by the court that a fifth respondent, Mary Chidyausiku be joined in the case except for a jointer application she made.
Farai’s lawyer, Mr Blessing Mutiro and Mary’s attorney, Mrs Melissa Chinyangarara-Kaseke both failed to produce the order granted by the court confirming her to be joined in the matter, causing the judge to strike it from the roll.
Farai approached the High Court in June 2018 seeking an order compelling the pension master to process and transfer into her bank account, all the pension and terminal benefits of her late husband from the Judiciary.
She cited Judicial Service Commission, Pension Master, Pay Master and Minister of Justice and Legal Parliamentary Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi as respondents.
However, another surviving spouse of the late jurist Mary Chidyausiku who is also fighting to get the same benefits then filed a court application seeking to be joined as the 5th respondent in the application under case number HC 5754/18.
After being joined in terms of an order by Consent, she filed her notice of opposition on 25 February 2019, but Farai failed to file an answering affidavit or set the matter down within one month of having been served with the notices of opposition.
In her founding affidavit, Mary argued that she was the one entitled to get the full benefits as her pension form was accompanied by a marriage certificate indicating she was lawfully married to the late Chidyausiku at the time he passed on.
She further said Farai’s application was based on her false allegation that she was the only surviving spouse which was untrue and misleading.
Although Farai was not mentioned in the inheritance, she claims that she was customarily married to the late jurist and that her brother received US$1 000 as bride price from him in 2002.
She argued in her court papers that she even changed her surname and started using the Chidyausiku family name. – Herald
