FINANCE minister Mthuli Ncube and Industry deputy minister Raj Modi will be contested in the August 23 elections following yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling in favour of the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) candidates.
Ncube (Cowdray Park), Modi (Bulawayo South) and Tendai Charuka (Bulawayo Central) were unopposed after the High Court disqualified 12 CCC parliamentary candidates in Bulawayo.
The dozen had been disqualified for allegedly filing their nomination papers after the 4pm deadline on June 21.
Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Bongani Ndlovu disqualified the CCC candidates after some Zanu PF members approached the courts challenging the legality of their candidacy.
CCC appealed the ruling at the Supreme Court.
Supreme Court judges Justices Tendai Uchena, Alfas Chitakunye and Hlekani Mwayera yesterday granted the appeal and set aside the High Court ruling.
“The unanimous decision of the court was arrived at after considering the submission by the counsels of the appellants and the applicants,” the Judges said.
“The appeal is hereby allowed with costs. The judgment of the court a quo is set aside.
- Fresh land invasions hit Whitecliff
- Pomona cash row escalates
- Border Timbers targets European markets
- SA name strong A side for Zim tour
Keep Reading
“The applicants’ application is hereby dismissed with costs and the reasons of the court will follow in due course.”
CCC spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere said Zanu PF had thrown the election into disrepute by causing the disqualification of the party’s candidates.
“We do not celebrate because they should never have been removed,” Mahere said after the ruling.
“However, we are relieved that the people of Bulawayo will finally be able to choose their leaders. It would have been a coup against the will of the people for them to be removed.”
Lawyers Welshman Ncube and Paidamoyo Saurombe represented the CCC candidates, while Tawanda Kanengoni stood in for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission.
The CCC dozen was disqualified following an application by Zanu PF activists, calling themselves “registered voters”, claiming that they had evidence that the 12 filed their nomination papers after the deadline.
Zec had, however, opposed the applications against the CCC candidate, insisting that the 12 had filed their papers before 4pm.
The CCC candidates argued that the High Court had no jurisdiction to hear the matter.
