Judge slams Chamisa and CCC failure to appear in court as MPs recall case thrown out

By Staff Reporter

THE High Court has dismissed a challenge by recalled opposition CCC legislators who wanted their removal from Parliament by “interim secretary general” Sengezo Tshabangu reversed.

Tshabangu recalled 15 legislators from parliament and 9 senators elected in the August vote. He argued that the MPs had been imposed after failing to get popular support from the party’s primary selection process.

CCC leader condemned the recalls, arguing that Tshabangu was not a party member, resulting in the High Court challenge.

In his ruling which was delivered Saturday; Justice Munamato Mutevedzi said the failure party leader Nelson Chamisa’s to appear in court was not helpful.

“None of them (applicants) can speak for and on behalf of the party. Their parent is the party itself. It is the one which
knows who is a member and who is not. It ought to have been in court to speak about these issues,” said the judge.

“It was required to support the applicants’ claims that it is not the party which initiated the termination of their tenures in Parliament. I am not sure why the party leader is averse to appearing in court because in Majaya and Others (supra) this court expressed similar sentiments about him when it said:

What is surprising is that neither the applicants nor the MDC Alliance as a political party led by Nelson Chamisa has approached the court for a declaratory order confirming that the MDC Alliance is the political party in Parliament and not the MDC Tsvangirai. The right to recall the applicants and other MDC members of Parliament is ancillary to the grant or refusal of the declaratory order.

“The above remarks did not make him any wiser.”

The judge also said the absence of a CCC party constitution was not helpful.

“The applicants failed to produce their party constitution or any document which showed that the first respondent could possibly not have held the position he claimed he held. It was simply their word that he wasn’t. That is not enough,” reads the ruling.

“The only thing which can be authentic are proper constitutive documents of the concerned political party with clear office bearers whose powers are clearly stated therein.

“In the absence of such it can easily be a free for all scenario. And when it degenerates to that level, the remedy is not to see ghosts in other people and other institutions but to self-introspect and seek to stop the putrefaction.”

Commenting on Saturday’s ruling, CCC said on its X (formerly Twitter) social media handle; “We have received the judgment of the High Court, and our lawyers are still studying it. We will provide a comprehensive statement regarding the same.

“We want to reiterate that Tshabangu is not a member of CCC, and the party CCC which is led by President Nelson Chamisa has not initiated any recall of a Member of Parliament or Senate.”

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has since proclaimed 9 December as the by-election date for constituencies where the opposition legislators were recalled.

The nomination court would sit on 7 November and Chamisa has ruled out participating in the new votes.