High Court judge Never Katiyo is in big trouble again. Many people are angry after he gave a judgement that broke the law. He gave the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) permission to appeal a case even before the legal time for a response had passed. This is not the first time Katiyo has done something wrong as a judge.

The case is about five opposition activists who were cleared of attempted murder charges from the 2023 elections. These include Sunningdale MP Maureen Kademaunga, Harare councillor Clayd Mashozhera, and two other residents, Noel Munhuweyi and Daudi Kharim Jessub. They were charged with trying to kill people and damaging property during the last elections.

After they were found not guilty in January 2025, the NPA applied to the High Court for permission to appeal in the Supreme Court. According to the law, the people who were cleared and the magistrate who handled the case had 10 days to respond to the NPA’s application. But Justice Katiyo gave the NPA permission to appeal just 4 days after the papers were served. This is against the law.

The order was made on 8 August 2025, even though the law says he had to wait at least 10 days. Lawyers for the accused say the judgement is wrong, and they want it fixed right away. They say it harms their clients. The lawyers are Harrison Nkomo and Tapiwa Muchineripi. They wrote letters to the High Court asking for the mistake to be fixed quickly.

Nkomo, who is representing one of the accused, explained that the application was served on 4 August, and the judge made his ruling on 8 August, just 4 days later. This is 6 days too early. The law says the respondents had until 20 August to reply. So the ruling was clearly too early and unfair.

In his letter to the Registrar of the High Court, Nkomo gave clear facts:

1. The NPA filed the application on 30 July.
2. The respondents were served on 4 August.
3. The certificate showing this service was filed on 5 August.
4. Katiyo gave his ruling on 8 August — only 3 days after the certificate and 4 days after service.
5. The law gives 10 full days after service for response.
6. So the correct deadline for response was 20 August.

Nkomo said the judge made a mistake, and he must fix it under Rule 29(1)(a) of the High Court Rules, 2021.

Muchineripi also sent a letter saying the judgement was wrong and must be removed. Both lawyers agree that the judge acted too fast and in the wrong way. They say the order hurts their clients and must be corrected.

This is not the first time Katiyo has been in the news for the wrong reasons. Not long ago, he made a ruling on a case before the court hearing even happened. This shocked many people in the legal world. The matter had not been argued, but he still gave a judgement. That too was a big scandal.

Now, because of all these mistakes, there are growing calls for Justice Katiyo to be suspended and investigated. Many people feel he is not doing his job properly. They believe he is damaging the justice system in Zimbabwe. The judiciary must be fair and follow the law. When a judge breaks the law, it makes the whole system look bad.

Zimbabweans are watching. They want answers. They want justice. And they want judges who follow the law, not break it.