Webster Tongoona Rushesha (in his capacity as the legal guardian of Tivonga Sacha Rushesha) & 2 Ors v Alexious Mashingaidze Dera & 5 Ors

Key Issues

• {"issue_text":"Whether the Constitutional Court was properly constituted without a Deputy Chief Justice during the transitional period under the 6th Schedule to the Constitution","issue_type":"constitutional","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"The Deputy Chief Justice post was vacant; the Chief Justice was appointed on 29 March 2017; the hearing was on 28 June 2017"}
• {"issue_text":"Whether an appeal lies to the Constitutional Court against a Supreme Court judgment that did not determine a constitutional issue","issue_type":"procedural","dispositive":"yes","related_facts":"The Supreme Court judgment did not determine any constitutional issue; the appellants did not raise constitutional issues before the Supreme Court"}
• {"issue_text":"Whether costs on an attorney and client scale should be awarded against the appellants","issue_type":"procedural","dispositive":"no","related_facts":"The appellants persisted with the appeal despite existing case law; they raised the preliminary point at the hearing rather than beforehand"}

Background