Former Education minister Aeneas Chigwedere’s son has taken his father alongside police commissioner general Augustine Chihuri and his two junior officers to the High Court, demanding the return of a vehicle allegedly seized from him by the law enforcement agents in 2014.

Mangwiza Chigwedere has been engaged in bitter legal fights with his father whom he also accuses of witchcraft.

In his summons issued in November last year, Mangwiza accused the Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) of being used by his father to settle personal disputes by falsely accusing him of stealing the vehicle in dispute, a Mazda BT-50.

According to Mangwiza, the incident leading to the impounding of his vehicle occurred on March 8 2014 as he was driving the car in Macheke along Mutare Road.

Mangwiza said on the day in question, he was advised by traffic officers Elias Murombo and Vanencio Chiwidziro that he had been arrested for possessing a stolen vehicle after which the officers impounded the car and seized the registration book.

“The third and fourth defendants [Murombo and Chiwidziro] advised the plaintiff [Mangwiza] that they were investigating a case wherein it was alleged he had stolen the first defendant’s [Chigwedere] car which was the same car he was driving,” Mangwiza said in his declaration.”

“The plaintiff was advised by the third and fourth defendants that after the investigations were done, they would summon the plaintiff to appear in court.

He added: “On the 24th of May 2016, the third and fourth defendants then disclosed to the plaintiff that there was never a case that the plaintiff was facing, that of alleged theft of a car but that they had been instructed by the first defendant to use their policing powers to take the vehicle from the plaintiff and hand it over to the first defendant.”

Mangwiza said the two police officers also disclosed the vehicle had been handed over to his father who was said to be a powerful politician who could order any police officer to take his orders, as had been done in his case.

However, in response to the summons, Chihuri and his officers, through the office of the Attorney-General’s Civil Division, requested for further particulars and also filed a special plea in bar.

The police said Mangwiza was improperly brought before the court after having failed to comply with the peremptory provisions of the law.

“In terms of the State Liabilities Act, the plaintiff is enforced to give the defendants 60 days’ notice of the intention to institute legal proceedings….the requirements of the State Liabilities Act are mandatory and admit of no discretion. Non-compliance renders the action barred,” the police said. – The Standard