CITIZENS Coalition for Change (CCC) self-imposed secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu has reported party leader Welshman Ncube to the Law Society of Zimbabwe (LSZ) alleging that the acting president exerted undue pressure on his lawyers, resulting in them terminating their services.
Tshabangu claims that Welshman refused to reach common ground in three recent meetings held in an effort to find each other.
He is also appealing at the Supreme Court a High Court ruling that barred him from making changes in Parliament.
The ruling came after Welshman challenged Tshabangu’s decision to recall several elected leaders and parliamentary portfolio committee chairpersons and members.
Tshabangu had to withdraw and re-file his Supreme Court appeal after his lawyers from Ncube and Attorneys dumped him on the eve of the hearing, which he claims was due to pressure from Welshman.
“I have just received the legal advice which concludes that what happened deserves the attention of the Law Society of Zimbabwe as the regulatory body. I am still looking at it,” Tshabangu said.
“The background facts set out in the legal opinion are jaw-dropping. For now, the contents of the opinion are protected by attorney-client privilege.”
It is alleged that Welshman was not happy with the fact that Nqobani Sithole of Ncube and Attorneys represented Tshabangu in his Supreme Court appeal against a High Court judgment that was favourable to the acting CCC leader.
- Chamisa party defiant after ban
- Village Rhapsody: How Zimbabwe can improve governance
- News in depth: Partisan police force persecutes opposition, shields Zanu PF rogue elements
- Chamisa chilling death threat bishop defiant
Keep Reading
Tshabangu argues that a senior partner of Ncube and Attorneys has relations with Welshman, who also is a senior partner in his law firm, Ncube and Partners.
Sithole, under Ncube and Attorneys, represented Tshabangu since 2023 in several other cases involving the Ncube-led CCC before their fallout.
Sources from Tshabangu’s camp claimed that Sithole refused to bow to Welshman’s pressure for him to dump Tshabangu, resulting in him opting out of the Ncube and Attorneys law firm.
“But he could not go on to represent Tshabangu because he had quit the law firm,” a source told NewsDay.
“The tactic was to embarrass Advocate (Lewis) Uriri on the day of the hearing that when the judge asked who his instructors were, he would point to those from Ncube and Attorneys and they would disown him.
“For Nqobani to continue to represent him, he had to register his own law firm, but Professor Ncube threatened to frustrate the efforts.”
Contacted for comment, Welshman curtly responded: “I will comment on that in due time.”
Spokesperson of the Ncube-led CCC Willias Madzimure, however, dismissed claims being made by Tshabangu’s camp.
“We are just dealing with his Supreme Court appeal,” Madzimure said.
“If you look at Professor Ncube, do you think he would be intimidated by Tshabangu so that he could engage in underhand tactics? He can’t do that.
“The problem is that Tshabangu has nothing to do. He has no party to lead, so at the end of the day, he just fights people to while up his idleness.”
But Tshabangu claimed that he had made several attempts to reconcile with Welshman in vain.
“To be clear though, Senator Tshabangu has never been the one to escalate the conflict,” his spokesperson Nqobizitha Mlilo said.
““So many times he has tried to de-escalate the conflict and all the points of difference . . . At least three meetings have been held between the parties to find a compromise solution. In all meetings, Senator Tshabangu was prepared to compromise.
“Senator Tshabangu never intended to restructure Parliament. He was reacting to something done somewhere, by someone. He has no inherent problems with mother (Mai Karenyi-Kore). Mai Kore is a warm and motherly woman. She is caught up in toxicity.”
Mlilo, however, refused to comment on what Tshabangu was reacting to, saying he had not been cleared to divulge the details.
