This was the question raised by Buhera South legislator Joseph Chinotimba when Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko left the House of Assembly just before his colleague Emmerson Mnangagwa walked in.
Mphoko had been heckled by the legislators who accused him of being G40 when he said the Leader of the House was Justice Minister Happyton Bonyongwe and not Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa who was the Leader of the House until the recent cabinet reshuffle where he lost the Justice portfolio.
Deputy Speaker Mabel Chinomona, however, insisted that Mnangagwa was still Leader of the House until Parliament as officially notified.
Apparently Mnangagwa was not in the House at the time prompting Chinotimba to ask why Mphoko had left.
“When Vice President Mphoko was asked who the Leader of the House is, he responded. When the other Vice President walked in, he got out,” Chinotimba said.
“As a Member of Parliament, I am totally disturbed as to who the Leader of the House is between the two. We want our Vice Presidents to work in one accord. They should not operate separately. Who is the Leader of the House? Can Vice President Mnangagwa confirm that the Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs is now the Leader of the House?”
The Deputy Speaker, however, said Mphoko had not left when Mnangagwa walked in.
“Hon. Chinotimba, first and foremost, Hon. Vice President Mphoko did not leave when Hon. Vice President Mnangagwa entered,” she replied.
“He went away at his own time. Hon. Vice President Mnangagwa came some ten minutes later. We should not mix these two issues.”
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