RUVIMBO MUCHENJE
SPEAKER of Parliament Jacob Mudenda’s double standards, political chicanery and naked bias have been laid bare by his latest reversal of portfolio committee appointments made by Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) interim leader Jameson Timba on the basis that he is not “a member of the party”.
Ironically, Mudenda refused to do the same on self-imposed CCC secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu when he recalled the opposition party’s elected MPs.
This past week, Mudenda said he was rescinding his announcement made on 15 February 2024, on Timba’s appointment of several CCC lawmakers to respective portfolio committees.
“On reflection, I should not have acted upon that letter as facts now thereof before me show that Jameson Timba had no locus standi to represent a party in such a manner as I will outline below:
Jameson Timba was recalled from the Senate by the CCC Party on 7th November, 2023, the party which he purported to represent as the acting leader and administrator,” Mudenda said.
“Jameson Timba challenged the recall in the High Court under case number HCH 6684/23 with other former Members of the CCC Party and lost the court case. He was also among the former Members of the CCC Party whom the High Court barred on 9th December, 2023, from contesting the 3rd February 2024 by-elections under the CCC Party following Sengezo Tshabangu’s application to block them from participating in the polls under the CCC banner.”
“Considering that Jameson Timba had been recalled by the same CCC Party he was purporting to represent, and that he was also banned by the courts from contesting under the banner of the same CCC Party, his communication to Parliament and the appointments made thereafter, are therefore null and void.
Accordingly, I am rescinding the announcement on the 15th of February, 2024 and referring the matter back to the CCC Party to make the appropriate appointments.”
It will be remembered that Mudenda refused to review Tshabangu’s recalls of elected MPs when the then CCC leader Nelson Chamisa wrote to him indicating he had no such authority in the opposition party.
Tshabangu, who purported to be CCC interim secretary-general, wrote to Mudenda in the same way Timba did, recalling at first 15 MPs before repeating the action on several other occasions.
In a letter to Parliament, Chamisa denied Tshabangu was a CCC official and, therefore, was not qualified to act in the manner he did. Part of Chamisa’s letter read:
“I have had sight of a letter dated 3 October 2023 circulating on social media and reported in news media addressed to the Speaker of Parliament from one Sengezo Tshabangu Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda office purporting to be the interim SG of CCC and purporting to recall several members of our political party from the Parliament.
“Pursuant to our letter dated 11 September 2023 in which I advised you on the communications protocols concerning CCC MPs, I am writing to confirm that there have not been any changes to the communications protocols…”
“For the avoidance of doubt, no other person is authorised to correspond or communicate with Parliament concerning CCC MPs.”
In the referenced letter, Chamisa said all correspondence concerning his party’s 103 MPs and 27 senators should be directed to his T he opposition leader described Tshabangu as a huge fraud.
“Sengezo Tshabangu is not a member of CCC and as such cannot provide, avail, or adduce evidence of any such membership as his name does not appear on any of CCC street or village registers of any district, in any province, as administered by the CCC Bureau of Organising. In the CCC we have no such position as SG or interim SG as alleged by Tshabangu,” wrote Chamisa.
“As at present, none of the MPs who were elected under the CCC have been expelled from the party I lead or recalled from the National Assembly, or for that matter, from any elected position in the Senate or any local council,” Chamisa wrote.
“Honourable Speaker, the conduct of Mr Tshabangu is in fact a wanton violation of our laws and a clear act of criminality. As such, criminal charges have been filed against him.
“Therefore, please disregard the letter in question or any other correspondence from any other person purporting to represent CCC.” Mudenda, however, ignored the letter and kept upholding recalls of MPs by Tshabangu, which finally gifted Zanu PF with a two thirds majority in the National AssemBly.
