Mafume gets High Court reprieve

By The NewsDay | Apr. 12, 2022 | 2 Min read

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.

BY DESMOND CHINGARANDE 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.

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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.