LOCAL GOVERNMENT minister July Moyo yesterday appointed Stewart Mutizwa acting Harare mayor despite a court ruling on the same day that blocked the State from stopping incumbent mayor Jacob Mafume (MDC Alliance) from resuming duty.
Observers said the move by Moyo had exposed the nefarious
ties between the ruling Zanu PF party and the MDC-T which are exacerbating the
chaos at Town House as Mutizwa is linked to the Douglas Mwonzora-led party,
while Mafume is an MDC Alliance councillor.
Moyo last year suspended Mafume arguing that he was facing
a criminal case before the courts, but the MDC Alliance deputy secretary for
local government (Mafume) returned to work last month, on the basis that his
suspension had lapsed.
Mutizwa has been acting mayor in the absence of Mafume, and
a special council meeting called on Monday to elect a new acting mayor failed
to constitute a quorum.
“I have taken note of the contents of the letter dated
September 24, 2021 in which a certificate on the declaration of vacancy in the
office of the mayor for City of Harare was issued by the acting town clerk,”
Moyo’s letter, dated September 29, 2021, read in part.
He accused the council of neglect for failing to appoint an
acting mayor since September 14. Since then, the local authority has been on
auto pilot.
“In terms of section 104(2) of the Urban Councils Act
(Chapter 29:15), I hereby appoint SM Mtizwa ward 9 Greendale councillor as the
acting mayor for the City of Harare with immediate effect,” Moyo said.
His letter came as a Harare magistrate yesterday dismissed
an application by prosecutor Michael Reza to stop Mafume from resuming his
duties.
Magistrate Ngoni Nduna said it was incompetent for the
court to grant the State’s application since they were not bringing up new
facts.
“The accused was arrested for obstructing the course of
justice and was admitted to bail with the same grounds that the State had brought
up for the application. New grounds are not raised in the State’s application,
therefore, it needs modification and the court cannot grant that application,
it is dangerous to the law,” the magistrate ruled.
He said the court had no jurisdiction to amend bail
conditions for Mafume. Reza said if Mafume continued to go to work, he could
put pressure on the witnesses who are council workers.
But through his lawyer Tabani Mpofu, Mafume challenged the
State saying he was summoned to appear in court, but no facts were stated as to
what he was needed for.
“The accused was summoned to appear in court today. In view
of the summons, we do not know why he is in court. We indicated that we are
here because it’s a court of law, but we were not aware why we were here,”
Mpofu said during the application.
Mafume is being accused of obstructing the course of
justice or alternatively, contempt of court for allegedly interfering with a
key witness, Edgar Dzehonye, in another matter where he is facing criminal
abuse of office charges. Newsday
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