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Fidelis Munyoro-Chief Court Reporter
THE High Court has barred CCC secretary- general Sengezo Tshabangu from unilaterally imposing changes to the party’s parliamentary leadership.
Justice Neville Wamambo on Wednesday ruled in favour of CCC acting president Professor Welshman Ncube, who had filed an urgent application to halt Mr Tshabangu’s moves.
Prof Ncube argued that Mr Tshabangu lacked the authority to reassign Members of Parliament and, in doing so, was effectively engaging in clandestine recalls, a practice explicitly prohibited by an earlier High Court judgment.
Justice Wamambo endorsed this position, finding that Mr Tshabangu’s purported “removals” of Ms Karenyi Konye, Mr Sessel Zvidzai, and Mr Edwin Mushoriwa from the parliamentary Committee on Standing Rules and Orders (CSRO) amounted to recalls in both spirit and law.
The judge further determined that Mr Tshabangu’s appointment of Ms Nonhlanhla Mlotshwa as opposition chief whip was unconstitutional, as the role itself is not recognised under the country’s legal framework.
Prof Ncube further charged that Mr Tshabangu’s self-appointment as the overall leader of the opposition in Parliament was a brazen affront to the party’s hierarchy.
In granting the interim relief sought by Prof Ncube, Justice Wamambo reversed Mr Tshabangu’s purported reshuffle of parliamentary leadership.
The judge invoked the earlier judgment by Justice Tawanda Chitapi, which had barred Mr Tshabangu from initiating recalls pending the resolution of the main legal dispute over his authority.
“Further, the reshuffle in this case amounts to a recall ‘literally and at law,” ruled Justice Wamambo.
“I also find that the position of chief whip is not sanctioned by the constitution and is thus unlawful.
“I agree that removing members from the CSRO and replacing them with others amounts to a recall. Effectively, first respondent disobeyed the order rendered in HH 652/23.
“In the totality of the circumstances, I find that the application is meritorious and should be granted.”
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