Leaders from a faction of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party, recently ousted from their parliamentary roles by the party’s contested secretary-general, Sengezo Tshabangu, have filed an urgent High Court application to challenge his decision.
According to NewZimbabwe.com, the leaders involved—interim party leader Welshman Ncube, deputy leader Lynette Karenyi Kore, Sesel Zwidzai, and Edwin Mushoriwa—have named the party as the first applicant in the case.
Tshabangu, who took charge of the CCC after the 2023 general elections, has been pushing for a reshuffle in parliamentary portfolio committees held by the party. Critics argue that this move is aimed at replacing key committee members with Tshabangu’s own supporters.
In the court application, the applicants are asking the court to declare that Tshabangu’s decision to remove them from the Standing Rules and Orders Committee (SROC) is unlawful and beyond his constitutional authority. They are also challenging the appointment of Nonhlahla Mlotshwa as the CCC chief whip, claiming that the position does not exist under Section 151 (2) of the Constitution.
Furthermore, the applicants are disputing the reshuffling of various CCC members across parliamentary committees. They are seeking an order to prevent the Speaker of the National Assembly from announcing these changes in Parliament.
Ncube, in support of the application, filed an affidavit stating that Tshabangu lacked the authority to make such decisions and emphasized that disciplinary action would follow. He argued that Tshabangu had violated a previous court order that barred him from recalling party members, asserting that the reshuffle amounted to a recall.
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Ncube further contended that Tshabangu’s actions were an abuse of power and did not reflect the collective decision of the CCC. He criticized the Speaker for entertaining Tshabangu’s decisions instead of respecting the party’s official position. Ncube also claimed that Tshabangu disguised the recalls as redeployments, violating the court ruling.
The case is yet to be heard, with no official date set for the hearing. Until then, the status quo remains in place.
