Mudenda ‘right on Mliswa, Mutasa’ Jacob Mudenda

JACOB MUDENDA2Daniel Nemukuyu Harare Bureau
ZANU-PF’S former secretary for administration Didymus Mutasa and his nephew Temba Mliswa automatically lost their seats by operation of the law and they had no basis to accuse the Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda of “declaring the seats vacant”, President Robert Mugabe says in court papers.

The duo is challenging their expulsion from Parliament.

Mutasa and Mliswa lost the Headlands and Hurungwe West constituencies, respectively, after their dismissal from the ruling Zanu-PF party.

They were expelled from Zanu-PF a month ago for activities seen as undermining the revolutionary party and its leadership.

In the heads of argument filed yesterday by lawyer Terrence Hussein on behalf of President Mugabe at the Constitutional Court, the Zanu-PF leader said Mudenda did not declare the seats vacant, but the law clearly states that a notice from the sponsoring party recalling the legislators was one that, at law, declares the seats vacant.

“Contrary to the understanding of the applicants, it is not the Speaker who makes a declaration but the sponsoring political party in a notice to him. The section is therefore a deeming provision and is not subject to the actions of Parliament or the Speaker,” the President argues.

“Clearly evident from the simple and unambiguous language of this section is that a vacancy occurs in Parliament immediately upon the sponsoring party giving written notice to the Speaker that the member has ceased to belong to it.”

The Speaker’s functions, President Mugabe’s lawyer said, start when he is required to notify the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission of the vacancy.

“The Speaker’s functions only kick in after the vacancy has occurred by operation of the law wherein he is required in terms of the Act to notify the President and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission of the vacancy that has occurred by the operation of law,” argued Hussein.

The President, according to the filed papers, also correctly acted on the information he received and proclaimed the by-election for the vacant constituencies.

It is argued that the pair did not challenge President Mugabe’s conduct in the papers because there was no provision in the Constitution for him to adjudicate upon a notification received from the Speaker.

It was argued that Mutasa and Mliswa were wasting the court’s time and that of the parties involved, and Hussein urged the court to dismiss the application with costs.

Mutasa and Mliswa, in papers filed this week, argued that Section 129(1) (k) which was invoked to fire them called for the Speaker to establish whether the notice from the political party was bona fide and whether the legislators in question have lawfully ceased to be party members.

The duo argued that the two requirements were not met. The two argued that the Speaker could have informed them in advance and sought to hear their side of the story before making a decision.

Mutasa and Mliswa argue that Zanu-PF did not follow due process in expelling them; hence the National Assembly Speaker’s decision to declare their seats vacant was a nullity.

The two seek to bar any by-election in Headlands and Hurungwe West constituencies, respectively.

Mudenda, President Mugabe and the chairperson of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission, Justice Rita Makarau, were listed as respondents in the court application.

The Constitutional Court will sit on April 1 to hear the arguments, with by-elections in the two constituencies set for June 10.

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