HARARE – President Emmerson Mnangagwa has appointed a tribunal to investigate whether High Court judge Never Katiyo should be removed from office over allegations of gross misconduct.

The tribunal will be chaired by retired judge Maphios Cheda and will also include legal practitioners Tafadzwa Hungwe and Chaka Mashoko.

This follows a recommendation from the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), which advised the president in October 2025 that the matter should be formally investigated.

Delays in the appointment of the tribunal had angered lawyers, with Beatrice Mtetwa writing to the Attorney General in January this year stating that it was “undesirable that any litigant should be required to appear before a judge whose conduct has been found sufficiently concerning for the JSC to recommend a tribunal.”

Mtetwa said her firm represents a litigant in a High Court matter in which Justice Katiyo allegedly incorporated into a judgement matters that had not been placed before the court. Although the JSC acknowledged receipt of the complaint in 2024 and indicated it would be investigated, no outcome was communicated.

Katiyo is also accused of issuing a fictitious judgement and making a procedural violation in a politically sensitive case.

It is alleged that in July last year, the judge handed down a fabricated ruling in a property dispute between Bulgarian company Technoimpex JSC and a local firm, a judgement which falsely recorded that a hearing had taken place and that senior Advocate Thabani Mpofu had appeared for one of the parties.

Mpofu denied ever participating in the case, prompting Katiyo to take the extraordinary step of rescinding his own judgement, acknowledging that it had been “erroneously issued.”

The withdrawal, dated August 7, 2025, raised serious questions about judicial integrity and due process.

Barely a week later, the same judge came under fresh scrutiny after granting the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) leave to appeal in a politically charged case before the deadline to file opposing papers had expired, a breach of court rules that lawyers described as “a blatant violation of procedure.”

The case involved opposition politician Maureen Kademaunga and several others who were acquitted of attacking Zanu PF supporters in 2024. On August 8, 2025, Justice Katiyo granted the NPA’s application for leave to appeal four days after it was filed, despite respondents having until August 20 to file their responses.

Legal practitioners said the ruling “was granted in error and to the prejudice of the respondents,” and demanded its rescission under Rule 29(1)(a) of the High Court Rules.

Mnangagwa, in a notice published in the government gazette last Friday, said: “I do, by this proclamation, establish a Tribunal to inquire into the question of removal from office of the Honourable Justice Never Katiyo.”

According to the proclamation, the inquiry will run for five months from the date the members are sworn in. The tribunal must then submit its findings to the president within a month after completing the hearings.

Cheda’s panel will also look into whether the judge attempted to frustrate investigations by rescinding a judgement after receiving a memorandum from the Chief Justice.

Mnangagwa said the tribunal would determine whether the judge’s conduct amounts to gross misconduct and whether he is “fit to hold office in the light of the foregoing.”

Under Section 187 of the constitution, a judge may only be removed from office for inability to perform duties due to physical or mental incapacity, gross incompetence or gross misconduct.

The inquiry may be conducted either in public or in private depending on what the tribunal considers appropriate. Its final report will recommend to the president whether Justice Katiyo should remain on the bench or be removed from office.

Justice Katiyo was controversially appointed a judge by President Mnangagwa in 2021 after allegedly scoring lowly in public interviews for judges conducted by the JSC.

He previously worked as a magistrate in Chinhoyi and was legal affairs director in the ministry of industry and commerce immediately before his appointment as a judge.