AG speaks on dethroned Speaker

Zvoma advising him that former Speaker of Parliament, Mr Lovemore Moyo should revert back to his old status as Member of Parliament for Matobo North.
This follows the nullification of Mr Moyo’s election as Speaker by the Supreme Court last week.
In an interview yesterday, Mr Tomana said he had written an advisory letter to Mr Zvoma that Mr Moyo should assume the post he occupied prior to his election as Speaker.
“The law is clear on such matters.
“You do not need Tomana to interpret what the Supreme Court judgment means,” said Mr Tomana.
“The Supreme Court said the election was ab initio (null and void). What does ab initio mean?
“It means we revert back to the old status where he was Member of Parliament. It is very clear; you do not need an expert to know that.”
Asked what would happen should Mr Zvoma hold a different view from his advice, Mr Tomana said his role remained advisory.
“My advice is just the same as how any lawyer advises his client. I advise my clients and it is up to them to take up the advice.
“It is not important to check from me what my advice was because my role is to advise clients,” he said.
Mr Zvoma said he was still studying the advice. He, however, said he will formally announce the existence of the vacancy of the post of Speaker when the House resumes sitting next Tuesday.
“We will announce to the House that there is a vacancy.
“It is up to the House to proceed to elect the Speaker or defer but what is important is that they cannot transact any business before they can fill the post,” said Mr Zvoma.
“I will however, explain to the House what needs to be done in order to have a flawless election and it is up to them to decide when to conduct the election.”
Two legal opinions had been proffered on the status of Mr Moyo.
One was that Mr Moyo ceased to be a legislator after he declared the Matobo seat vacant together with other constituencies that became vacant owing to either death or expulsion of the incumbents by their political parties.
Another legal opinion was that Mr Moyo’s seat is automatically revived following the ruling by the superior court that his election was a legal nullity.