HUNGWE & ANOR V MAWEREZA 2010 (2) ZLR 154 (H)

Flynote

Police - Commissioner of Police - suit against in official capacity - service of process - claims otherwise than in money - personal service on Commissioner not required

Practice and procedure - process-service of - claim against the State - claim against police - when process must be served on Commissioner and when may be served at a police station - claims against Commissioner of Police in his official capacity - claims otherwise than in money - personal service on Commissioner not required

Headnote

The respondent, a junior police officer, had been convicted of a disciplinary offence by a police board. An appeal to the Commissioner, the second applicant, failed. The respondent brought the matter on review. The process was served on the first applicant, the president of the disciplinary board, at his office in Bulawayo. There being no appearance for the applicants, the review application was granted. The applicants sought to have the order set aside, on the grounds that they had not been properly served with the process, as required by r 43B of the High Court Rules 1971. They argued that service should have been on the Commissioner, at his office.

Held, that Order 5 A, under which r 43B falls, applies only to claims against the State where the claim is sounding in money. Any other court process should be served at any police station for onward transmission to the Commissioner. Indeed, the Commissioner was aware of this, as he had instructed all police stations to forward court papers relating to either review or appeal matters to the force's legal services in Harare.