THE MDC Alliance is battling to retain possession of the
Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House (MRT House) and has filed a notice of appeal to
the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s ruling which gave occupation
rights to the MDC-T.
This comes after High Court judge David Mangota dismissed
two applications filed by the MDC Alliance following a June 4 takeover of the
property by the Thokozani Khupe-led MDC-T.
In the notice of appeal filed on behalf of the MDC Alliance
by Mbidzo Muchadehama and Makoni Legal Practitioners, the Nelson Chamisa-led
party want Mangota’s judgment set aside.
They argued that Mangota grossly erred in failing to grant
the applications when the requirements of a spoliation order had been met.
“The court a quo seriously misdirected itself on the facts,
which misdirection amounts to a mistake of law when it found that the MDC-T was
one and the same thing as the MDC and that the headquarters of the MDC-T were
MRT House when there was no evidence to support that conclusion,” read the
application.
“The court a quo seriously erred and misdirected itself in
holding that the mere fact that the MDC-T stated that its headquarters were MRT
House meant that the owners of the property had confirmed the right of
occupation to the MDC-T, which finding was contrary to the unequivocal position
of the owners that it had granted the right of occupation to the MDC Alliance.”
The MDC Alliance further argued that Mangota had erred by
considering in his judgment that MDC-T had a contract with the owners of the
property when no such contract was produced before the court.
They said no such contract existed and that the owners were
clear that they had given possession to the MDC Alliance.
Meanwhile, more MDC Alliance legislators have challenged
their expulsion from Parliament, arguing that the decision to recall them was
unlawful and should be overturned.
Senators Gideon Shoko, Helen Zvimba, Tapfumanei Wunganai,
Meliwe Phuti, Phylis Ndlovu and Hebert Sinamapande, Keresencia Chabuka and
Siphiwe Ncube and MPs Amos Chibaya, Happymore Chidziva and Murisi Zwizwai filed
applications in the High Court.
The senators and MPs are represented by Mbidzo, Muchadehama
and Makoni Legal Practitioners and want their expulsion to be declared a
nullity for non-conformity with constitutional provisions and for MDC-T to be
ordered to pay costs of suit.
In an affidavit, Shoko blamed the Senate for accepting
directives from MDC-T yet their party was MDC Alliance.
“The fourth respondent (Senate president Mabel Chinomona)
acted unlawfully, in accepting and effecting a declaration from any other party
other than a declaration from the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance,
which sponsored us,” Shoko said.
“In so announcing our expulsion by a party other than the
MDC Alliance, the fourth respondent exercised a quasi-judicial function under
circumstances where she unlawfully failed to hear us or respect our due process
rights,” argued Shoko.
“Further, having dealt with us for two-and-a-half years as
MDC Alliance, she was stopped and barred from treating us any differently or
giving us a new label or name without due process.
“Had she been acting objectively, without malice, bias or
ill-motive she would not have acted upon or effected the glaringly unlawful
declaration.”
Shoko argued that Khupe and reinstated secretary-general
Douglas Mwonzora had no authority to write the letter of recall as they do not
have authority to represent the MDC Alliance.
“In any event having been elected at a congress in October
2014, his (Mwonzora) term of office as an office bearer of MDC-T expired in
October 2019.
“Factually, we never ceased to belong to the political
party that we have been members of at the time we participated in the election
namely the MDC Alliance — which sponsored us to Parliament and has not recalled
us.” Daily News
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