Harare – A dramatic legal battle within the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has culminated in a High Court ruling that throws the party into further disarray. In a judgement delivered this week, Justice President Mary Zimba-Dube declared that all CCC positions stemming from the 2019 Gweru congress are now being held unlawfully, siding with CCC’s interim secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu.
The ruling also nullifies Tshabangu’s expulsion from the party, a decision made by a disciplinary committee whose authority has now been deemed invalid. The High Court ordered CCC to pay the costs of the application.
Tshabangu had approached the High Court seeking relief on an urgent basis for a declaration that the CCC office bearers and main organs elected in Gweru’s terms of office expired on May 27, 2024. He also applied to the court praying for the decision to expel him made by a disciplinary committee constituting office bearers whose tenure of office had expired to be declared null and void and set aside.
Tshabangu’s legal challenge stemmed from his expulsion from the party following a dispute over the appointment of members to parliamentary portfolio committees. He argued that the terms of office for the party’s main organs had expired, as no new elections had been held since the 2019 Gweru congress. He further contended that the appointment of the disciplinary committee that expelled him was unlawful.
He also challenged the authority of Ncube to appoint the disciplinary committee, arguing that he was rotating on his own as acting president contrary to the provisions of the constitution.
Tshabangu averred that he learnt through the social media on January 9 this year that he had been suspended from the party, his position as interim secretary-general, and as the leader of the opposition in Parliament.
He also challenged the conduct of the disciplinary committee on several grounds. Chief among the objections being the jurisdiction of the disciplinary committee which tried him, the venue of the disciplinary hearing which he said was held at a private property belonging to Willias Madzimure.
He also argued that Zvidzayi should have recused himself on account of bias, having been negatively affected by his alleged actions and being a litigant against the applicant in the High Court and the Supreme Court on account of the same allegations.
The CCC, in its defence, argued that the terms of office for the Gweru congress office bearers should continue until replacements are elected and maintained that the disciplinary committee was properly constituted. The first to fourth respondents, Sesel Zvidzayi, Concillia Chinanzvavana, Gilbert Kagodora and Shepherd Mushonga, chose to abide by the decision of the court on the reasoning that they were members of the disciplinary committee that rendered the decision and had no duty to defend the application.
However, Justice Zimba-Dube’s judgement was particularly scathing of the CCC’s legal response, accusing their legal team of “copying and pasting” responses from previous proceedings, rendering their submissions irrelevant to the current case.
Crucially, the court found that Professor Welshman Ncube, representing the CCC, had failed to provide adequate proof that he was authorised by the party to litigate on its behalf. Ncube submitted an affidavit which contained an old party resolution.
The judge said: “Ncube and CCC’s predicament starts with an averment in para 1 of the opposing affidavit
which reads as follows: ‘I depose to this affidavit as duly authorised by the resolution of the 1st Applicant (Tshabangu) which I attach…’”
The judge continued, highlighting the errors in Ncube’s submission: “First to note is that the deponent to the opposing affidavit states that he is duly authorised by first applicant (Tshabangu) to depose to the opposing affidavit. This is factually incorrect. There is no first applicant in this matter there being only one applicant. The deponent to the opposing affidavit has failed to identify his principal.”
“Secondly, Welshman Ncube does not represent any applicant in these proceedings. Essentially what he is saying is that he deposes to the affidavit on behalf of Sengezo Tshabangu or even a non-party for that matter. This mishap borne out of ineptitude results from copy pasting of pleadings. This practice can be costly for parties and result in pleadings being struck out.”
“Pleadings should be drafted with diligence and attention to detail ensuring that they are prepared for each individual case and that parties are properly identified. An affidavit that fails to identify correctly parties in a litigation is invalid and has no force or effect at law.”
The judge further noted that the attached resolution was dated January 22, 2022, and addressed issues unrelated to the current proceedings. “The resolution does not speak to the authority of the deponent to the opposing affidavit to depose to it. Its importance to this matter was not addressed by the respondent,” she stated.
As a result of these critical errors, Justice Zimba-Dube ruled that the CCC’s opposition to Tshabangu’s application was invalid, effectively granting a default judgement in his favour.
The judge said the matter was to be decided on just the preliminary points raised by Tshabangu, without getting into the merits.
“The applicant’s point in limine is upheld. That being the case, there is no basis for the court to resolve the respondent’s preliminary points and consider its defence on the merits. The matter ends here.”
The implications of this ruling are far-reaching. Not only does it reinstate Tshabangu to his position as interim secretary-general, but it also casts a shadow over the legitimacy of the entire CCC leadership structure. The judge was also scathing of the CCC and Ncube’s response to Tshabangu’s application, accusing their legal team of falling into the trap of “copying and pasting” responses based on past proceedings, with the effect that their submissions were not relevant to the current matter.
The court’s order declares that “The term of office of the first to fourth respondents and main organs elected on 26 May 2019 at the Gweru Congress, save for its Parliamentary Caucus and Local Government Caucus as set out in Article 6 of its Constitution expired on 27 May 2024 and hold office unlawfully and in breach of article 6.2.2 as read with Article 6.3.3(g) of the Party’s Constitution.”
“The entire disciplinary process constituting the Disciplinary Committee that sat at number 60A Hibiscus Road, Lochnivar, Southerton, Harare, on 12 February 2025 to deliberate and decide on allegations of misconduct leveled by the fifth respondent against the applicant be and are hereby declared null and void and are set aside.”
In the wake of the judgement, Professor Ncube told ZimLive that a mistake had been made in submitting the wrong resolution and that the party would consider applying for a rescission of the judgement.
Advocate Lewis Uriri represented Tshabangu while Ncube and CCC were represented by Advocate Method Ndlovu.
This ruling protects Tshabangu and the CCC parliamentary and local government caucuses, but says Ncube and any other official claiming to represent the CCC are now impostors following the expiry of their terms of office.
This legal victory for Tshabangu is likely to deepen the divisions within the CCC and further complicate the party’s already fragile political standing. The future leadership and direction of the CCC now hang in the balance.
