adminNduduzo Tshuma Political Editor
THE MDC-T has made a U-turn on its expulsion of Senator Matson Hlalo after he successfully argued that he wasn’t given adequate time to appeal against a resolution by the party’s national executive to sack him.
The party wrote to Hlalo last week notifying him of his expulsion on the grounds that he failed to utilise the time given to him to appeal a national council resolution to sack him from the party last October.
However, in a letter to MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirai and the party’s appeals tribunal last Friday, Hlalo expressed his desire to appeal against his expulsion in terms of Clause 5.12 of the MDC-T constitution which grants him such rights and also states that he should be on suspension while he waits for his appeal to be heard.
In his grounds of appeal, Hlalo stated that the communication on a resolution by the party’s national council on October 29 last year for him to be expelled and giving him 14 days to appeal against the decision was only handed to him on November 25 by parliament chief whip Innocent Gonese.
“In essence, I was never given an opportunity to make any representations which, personally and as a right, I wanted and still want to make in person. There is no way I would have reasonably made meaningful representations within two days,” argued Hlalo.
In the letter, he argued that by time the national council met 30 days after the resolution to expel him, he couldn’t make any representations because party secretary general Douglas Mwonzora delayed in transmitting the letter.
Among other arguments, Hlalo professed ignorance of a resolution by the same body directing that members must not take the party to court without exhausting internal remedies.
He made reference to Clause 2.1 of the party’s constitution that provides that the party shall be a body corporate capable of suing and being sued adding that the decision to suspend him is a punishment for exercising his constitutional rights.
Hlalo, through his lawyer Godfrey Nyoni, also wrote to party spokesman Douglas Mwonzora calling for him to withdraw a letter advising Senate President Edna Madzongwe to eject him (Hlalo) from the lower house pending the appeal.
Nyoni argued that in terms of Clause 5.12, Hlalo should be put on suspension pending hearing of his appeal and in the process removing grounds to eject him from the Senate as one ceases being a member once their membership to the party they are representing is terminated.
In an emailed response to Hlalo’s lawyers, Mwonzora said the letter to Cde Madzongwe had not been submitted to Parliament.
“The letter to the President was a natural consequence of a member being expelled from the party. I had dispatched your client’s copy to him for his information. As you may appreciate, we were not yet aware of your client’s decision to appeal.
“We wish to advise you that the letter had not been submitted to Parliament at the time you filed your client’s appeal.
“So there’s nothing to appeal in terms of the constitution of the party. You will be given fair notice of the date to enable you to adequately prepare for the hearing.”
derick.khumalo