Suspended Zimbabwe Miners Federation (ZMF) president Henrietta Rushwaya is battling from her prison cell to keep her position with her legal team from Mthombeni Legal Practitioners managing to stop a special general council meeting set for Tuesday, which could have sealed her fate at the association.
Rushwaya was arrested at Robert Mugabe International
Airport late last month with 6kg gold in her hand baggage and now faces charges
of smuggling and bribery.
The ZMF management board, which consists of members of the
national executive, the council and regional representatives convened soon
after her arrest and announced her suspension, pending finalisation of her
case.
The association’s vice president, Mr Marufu Sithole, was
named the acting president. ZMF on Tuesday then convened another meeting in
Gweru where it reportedly intended to pass a vote of no confidence in her, and
so open the post for a new election.
The meeting — according to some insiders — was forced to
change the agenda after Rushwaya filed an urgent application seeking to bar the
meeting.
ZMF spokesperson, Mr Desmond Mangisi, confirmed that
Rushwaya’s team, which is contesting her suspension, had filed an application
seeking to stop the meeting.
Mr Mangisi however, denied reports that the Gweru meeting
was supposed to decide Rushwaya’s fate, but was convened to deliberate on the
agenda of the association’s annual general meeting.
“There have been reports that the meeting was convened to
discuss the fate of our suspended president, Ms Rushwaya, which is not true. Ms
Rushwaya remains suspended,” he said.
“The suspension was above board so we had no business
discussing her. The association, however, cannot fail to move on because she is
in remand prison” ZMF secretary-general,
Mr Morgan Mugawu said there was an error in the manner the special meeting was
announced, prompting some people in Rushwaya’s camp to believe that the Gweru
meeting was convened to deliberate on her fate.
“I think the term special congress misled people and there
have been rumours. This was a preparatory meeting to come up with our AGM date
and its agenda and nothing else,” he said. Herald
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