Saviour Kasukuwere’s attempt to run for president of Zimbabwe has been crushed after the High Court ruled he was ineligible due to living in exile for years.
The self-exiled former minister – once a feared enforcer in Robert Mugabe’s brutal Zanu PF party – fled the country during the 2017 coup that installed Emmerson Mnangagwa as president.
But Kasukuwere’s bid for a political comeback was sunk by a challenge from a Zanu PF member who argued he had not lived in Zimbabwe for the required 18 months to run for president.
The court ruled Kasukuwere – known as “Tyson” for his strong-arm tactics – failed to provide evidence he had only left on “temporary medical grounds” as claimed.
Now undaunted Kasukuwere’s lawyer has filed an appeal, declaring: “Saviour Kasukuwere is still on the ballot!”
But observers say Kasukuwere – wanted by police over pending cases – faces an uphill battle overturning the ruling and poses little threat to Mnangagwa despite Zanu PF’s panic at the prospect of vote-splitting.
The bungled attempt to nab power suggests Kasukuwere has been away from Zimbabwe’s cutthroat politics for too long – and his glory days as a feared enforcer in Mugabe’s ruthless regime are well and truly over.
