Morupisi, who last week was compelled by the Court of Appeal (CoA) to continue with his appeal despite his wishes to withdraw, says he no longer has the financial muscle to continue with his appeal and that any court rule that forces him to do so is a danger to litigants. “I state that any rule of court which has the effect of forcing an appellant to continue with his appeal against his will is not only wrong, oppressive and unjust but is a danger to litigants’ enjoyment of their right to appeal,” he said. The former Permanent Secretary to the President (PSP) said if that rule exists then it is essentially rendering litigants’ rights to appeal useless as they will be scared to appeal lest their sentence is enhanced. In a new founding affidavit accompanying a notice of motion filed on June 21, 2021, Morupisi has stated that he has incurred huge sums of money in legal fees, which is the main reason he has decided to cut his losses and withdraw his appeal.
The former PSP who is seeking leave to withdraw his appeal after his appeal withdrawal was struck out for being wrongly before court on Tuesday sought the appeal to be postponed pending the determination for leave to withdraw the appeal. In his affidavit, Morupisi has explained that he has incurred large sums of money in legal fees in the criminal case matter and others associated with it especially now that he is a pensioner, after his employment came to an end in February 2020. “My employment came to an end in February 2020 and I am now a pensioner with a greatly diminished ability to finance legal battles hence my decision to withdraw this appeal,” he said. He further pointed out that the Land Cruiser, being the subject of his litigation which was seized during investigation by the state, he has fully paid for it but has never enjoyed it. Morupisi stated that as a matter of fact, he has cumulatively spent over P2 million in the case on payment of the said vehicle, court fees, legal fees and has therefore decided to cut his losses by withdrawing the appeal. “Given the financial hardship I have to endure on account of this case and associated cases, I am no longer in a position to sufficiently and adequately prosecute the appeal,” Morupisi said.
