By Paul Nyathi| Professor Lovemore Madhuku has warned that MDC-T President Nelson Chamisa can be arrested for contempt of court after the latter issued a statement castigating High Court judge Justice Francis Bere.

Madhuku who represented Thokozani Khupe in a case against Chamisa’s MDC-T faction at the High Court on Monday said it was regrettable the party’s national executive chose to be contemptuous of the courts when it had approached the court in the first place.

“It is unfair to attribute improper motives to a judge who clearly applied an impartial mind to the matter before him,” said Prof Madhuku.

“A litigant who initiates legal proceedings cannot, after losing, choose to undermine the dignity of our courts.”

Chamisa sought to stop his rival Khupe from using the party’s name and logo, a matter which Justice Bere dismissed for lack of merit and ruled that Chamisa was an equal factional leader as khupe.

In scathing attack on the court, Chamisa’s spokesperson Luke Tamborinyoka accused the judge of siding with Khupe in his judgement.

“The national executive took note of the decision of the High Court. It noted with concern the creeping of politics into law and remained concerned that a whole respectable court can choose to relate itself to the issue of the so-called factions which was not even before it,” said Tamborinyoka in a statement.

Law Society of Zimbabwe president Mr Misheck Hogwe said it was expected that the judges should be free to adjudicate over matters without fearing they would be accused of meddling in politics.

“The matter before the court was by any definition a political dispute,” he said.

“If the political parties believed that the court had jurisdiction to entertain the matter they ought to respect the ruling of the court.

“This is not to say the losing party necessarily has to agree with the ruling. Litigants should resist the temptation to be bad losers so that the integrity of our courts is maintained.”

Obert Gutu, deputy president of the MDC-T led by Khupe, said the Chamisa faction’s statement was tantamount to contempt of court.

“It is very unfortunate for some misguided and unscrupulous people to seek to malign and denigrate the integrity of the learned judge,” said Gutu to state media journalists.

He said an attack on the independence of the judiciary went to the root of national stability and constitutional democracy.