The highly-anticipated ZIFA elections will proceed as scheduled tomorrow after High Court judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi dismissed an urgent application for review filed by disqualified presidential candidate Walter Magaya.
Magaya had challenged the ZIFA Ethics Committee’s decision to disqualify him from the race, based on a clause in the association’s new statutes requiring presidential and vice-presidential candidates to have completed at least five O-level subjects or an equivalent qualification. The Yadah Stars owner, who did not submit an O-level certificate, argued that ZIFA’s refusal to accept his alternative qualifications was unjust, discriminatory, and unlawful.
However, after reviewing the case, Justice Chitapi ruled that Magaya’s application lacked merit. The judge emphasized that for a decision to be overturned, it must be shown that no reasonable person would have reached the same conclusion. He also criticized Magaya for failing to provide the necessary O-level certificate or sufficient evidence to prove that the ZIFA Electoral Committee’s decision was flawed.
In his ruling, Justice Chitapi concluded that while the matter was of public interest, the challenge was neither frivolous nor vexatious. Nonetheless, he ruled that each party should bear its own legal costs.
With the legal challenge dismissed, six candidates—Philemon Machana, Nqobile Magwizi, Marshall Gore, Martin Kweza, Makwinji Soma-Phiri, and Twine Phiri—remain eligible to run for the ZIFA presidency.
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