(Last Updated on September 24, 2020 by Editor)
HARARE – The High Court has interdicted the Ministry of Local Government from recalling Harare City Mayor, Jacob Mafume and two other MD-Alliance Councillors.
MD-Alliance sought the order to prohibit the recalls after one Benjamin Rukanda (referred to as Secretary General of PDP) recently wrote a letter to Minister of Local Government, July Moyo advising that Harare Mayor, Jacob Mafume, Arnold Batsirai (Ward 24, Bulawayo) and Simon Chabuka (Ward 12,Mutare) had “ceased” to be members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
PDP is one of the parties that joined the MD-Alliance Coalition before the 2018 harmonised elections to form one single party, the MDC-Alliance.
At the time of joining the coalition, PDP was led by the current MD-Alliance vice president, Hon. Tendai Biti.
Mafume was recently elected Mayor of the country’s capital replacing Hebert Gomba who was recalled by the Khuphe led MDC-T.
Khuphe and her allies are using a Supreme Court ruling that gave her interim leadership of MDC-T to recall MD-Alliance legislators. This is despite the fact that Khuphe contested as the leader of a separate political party in 2018 and dismally lost.
Rukanda who “recalled” the 3 Councillors did not show up at the High Court.