RECALLED Harare mayor Jacob Mafume yesterday won his battle against Local Government minister July Moyo, with the High Court barring both the council and the minister from seeking to replace him.
Moyo had announced the vacancy, claiming that Mafume had
been recalled by a faction of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
The order followed an application by Mafume and Mutare
mayor Simon Chabuka and Arnold Batirai Dube, a former Bulawayo councillor who
challenged their recall by the PDP faction.
High Court judge Justice Munamato Mutevedzi upheld Mafume’s
application.
Mafume, Chabuka and Dube had challenged their dismissal by
Moyo.
The trio sought an order that their recall be declared null
and void and unconstitutional.
Moyo said the PDP had notified him of the trio’s suspension
through a letter dated March 28, 2022.
The trio had won the seats under the 2018 MDC Alliance
pact, of which PDP was a member.
Moyo had instructed the town clerks of Harare, Mutare and
Bulawayo to inform the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission of the vacancies in terms
of section 278 of the Constitution, saying they had joined a new political
party, the Citizens Coalition for Change.
But Mafume argued that they belonged to the PDP faction led
by Tendai Biti, who had not recalled them.
They cited Moyo, the Harare, Bulawayo and the Mutare town
clerks as respondents as they sought an interdict declaring the Local
Government minister’s letters null and void.
They also sought an order on costs on a punitive scale.
Newsday
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