High Court dismisses opposition party’s bid to halt February by-elections
The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) faced a significant setback as the High Court rejected their application to halt the upcoming by-elections scheduled for February 3. The by-elections were triggered by the recall of CCC councillors, senators, and Members of Parliament (MPs) by the party’s self-imposed interim secretary-general, Sengezo Tshabangu.
Tshabangu claimed that the recalled lawmakers had ceased to be members of the CCC and should not be allowed to contest on the party’s ticket. The Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda, acted on the recalls, leading to the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) initiating electoral processes to fill the vacant seats.
CCC Senator Jameson Timba and his colleagues approached the High Court, disputing Tshabangu’s authority and claiming that the Speaker had acted improperly. However, Mudenda and Senate President Mabel Chinomona argued that the seats had fallen vacant following the receipt of recall notices.
The High Court ruled in favour of Mudenda and Chinomona, dismissing the CCC’s application challenging the legality of the recalls. The judge stated that the matter could only be resolved in the pending summons case, where the dispute between the CCC entities would be addressed.
The court emphasized that judgment could not be made until the summons matter was heard, and criticized the CCC for filing the application while being aware of the pending resolution. The application was subsequently dismissed with costs.
“On that basis I will treat this matter as urgent. There is a dispute of fact pending resolution in the summons case,” Kwenda said in his ruling.
“In my view the point made is inconsistent because in the letter written by lawyer Obey Shava (representing recalled CCC members) they notified the Speaker and Senate President that Tshabangu does not represent CCC. I find that an order sought being a final order cannot be granted by this court.”
Kwenda added: “In this matter we have a situation where we have CCC on either side of the matter.
“The party is known by the same name and logo and both are represented by Nelson Chamisa, therefore, the dispute between the entities can only be resolved in the summons matter which is pending before this court.
“Applicants were reckless in filing this application while aware that this dispute was pending resolution in the summons matter. The application is dismissed with costs.”
