Citizens Coalition for Change legislators who were recalled from Parliament by self-proclaimed interim secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu tried to argue their case before Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda yesterday but he said it was not for him to adjudicate but simply to take action.
CCC is in turmoil after Tshabangu recalled 15 Members of Parliament and nine senators saying they were no longer members of the party.
Party leader Nelson Chamisa and his spokesmen Ostallos Siziba and Promise Mkwananzi dismissed Tshabangu as an impostor who was not a member of the party. They have accused Tshabangu of being a ZANU-PF stooge being used to destroy CCC.
Tshabangu said the recalls had nothing to do with ZANU-PF. “This is purely an internal process, and if we don’t deal with it we would set a bad example for Matabeleland and other parts of the country.”
He added: “We are cleaning up the party. It’s back to basics. Those that we recalled know that they didn’t win our primary selection process. Instead, they were handpicked by people in Harare to stand for election. That was not the people’s will. All of them will be recalled in later rounds.”
Below is the debate in Parliament yesterday:
THE HON. SPEAKER: I have to inform the House that on the 3rd of October 2023, I received a letter signed by Mr. W. Sengezo Tshabangu who signed off as the interim Secretary-General of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) political party notifying that the following Members ceased to be Members of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) with effect from the 3rd October 2023. The names were written as follows: Pashor Raphel Sibanda (Cowdray Park); Ereck Gono (Lobengula Magwegwe); Nicola Jane Watson, (Bulawayo South); Desmond Makaza (Mpopoma Mzilikazi); Obert Manduna (Nketa); Mlilo Sitabile (P.R); Jasmine Toffa (P.R); Janeth Dube (P.R); Evidence Zana (Youth Quota); Morgan Ncube (Beitbridge West); Velisiwe Nkomo (P.R); Prince Dubeko Sibanda (Binga North); Bright Moyo Vanya (Lupane East); and Febion Munyaradzi Kufahakutizwi (Mabvuku Tafara).
Accordingly, Section 129 (1) (k) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe applies as follows as it provides that ‘A seat of a Member of Parliament becomes vacant if the Member has ceased to belong to the political party of which he or she was a Member when elected to Parliament and the political party concerned by written notice to the Speaker or President of the Senate, as the case may be, has declared that the Member has ceased to belong to it’. The law has indicated in Section (1) (k) and the related previous court rulings on similar matters that they do not require me to adjudicate, but compels Parliament to only action notification upon receipt of a letter of the recall.
Accordingly, the necessary administrative measures have been taken to inform His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of the existence of the vacancies in line with Section 39 (1) of the Electoral Act, Chapter 213 as amended.
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