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Adv Mudenda

Daniel Nemukuyu Senior Court Reporter
National Assembly speaker Advocate Jacob Mudenda urged 21 former MDC-T legislators contesting their expulsion from Parliament to simply accept their fate and stop wasting the court’s time.

The 21 members — 17 from the National Assembly and four from the Senate — lost their seats after MDC-T through its secretary general Mr Douglas Mwonzora advised Parliament that they had ceased to be members of the political party.

To that end, the legislators filed a constitutional challenge arguing that their expulsion from Parliament was in breach of the supreme law of the Constitution and should be nullified.

Yesterday, Adv Mudenda filed his opposing papers in respect of the 17 while Senate president Cde Ednah Madzongwe opposed the case of the four axed senators.

Responding to the Constitutional Court application by the 17 National Assembly members, Adv Mudenda described the Constitutional Court application as a futile exercise.

Everything, the Speaker said, was pointing to the holding of by-elections to fill the vacancies left by the 21.

“What is only left for the applicants is simply to accept their fate because, to use the language of a rancher, the horse has already bolted out of the pen.

“To use the Shakespearean language, it is a high sounding application, but signifying nothing. To use biblical language, this application is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell, which will not produce the desired results…

“The whole situation is gearing and gravitating towards the by-elections, and parties have oiled the campaigning machineries to go into action,” reads Adv Mudenda’s opposing affidavit.

Prominent Harare lawyer Mr Simplisius Chihambakwe of Chihambakwe, Mutizwa and Partners is acting for both Adv Mudenda and Cde Madzongwe in the applications.

Mr Terrence Hussein of Hussein Ranchod and Company represents President Mugabe (third respondent) while Mr Tawanda Kanengoni appears for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and its chairperson (fourth and fifth respondents).

Adv Mudenda said the legislators erred by not citing MDC-T leaders Mr Morgan Tsvangirai, Ms Thokozani Khupe and Mr Douglas Mwonzora as respondents in the matter.

“It is necessary to note that MDC-T, Morgan Tsvangirai, Thokozani Khupe, Douglas Mwonzora and their members have a direct and substantial interest in the order being sought by the applicants.

“Therefore, the said members should have been cited as respondents in this application.

“It is common cause that the order(s) being sought by the applicants cannot be put into effect without prejudicing MDC-T, Tsvangirai, Khupe, Mwonzora and their members but the applicants wrongfully, intentionally, deliberately and with malice aforethought, decided not to cite them for good measure,” reads Adv Mudenda’s affidavit.

Adv Mudenda defended his actions in announcing the 21 vacancies saying he was acting in accordance with Section 129(1) (k) of the Constitution.

“I am informed and verily believe, that every person on this planet has the right to marry a person of his or her own choice, provided the other person’s love reciprocates.

“If the political party and or the other person rejects a person’s membership, his and? or the other suitor’s love, any imposition would be tantamount to violence or rape, hence Section 129(1) (k) of the Constitution was provided to keep law and order, and to keep the peace of the State,” he said.

In her own opposing affidavit, Cde Madzongwe said the fired senators erred by not approaching the court challenging their expulsion.

“At all material times, the applicants knew or ought to have known that the natural and probable effect of being expelled from a political party was to lose their seats in the Senate by operation of the provisions of Section 129(1) (k) of the Constitution.

“In the circumstances, the applicants ought to have sought an interdict from an appropriate court, preventing the political party concerned from notifying me that they had ceased to be members of MDC-T until their dispute(s) were finalised.

“To date, the applicants have not done anything to challenge their expulsion from MDC-T in a court of law and that speaks volumes about the applicants’ attitude towards safeguarding their interests,” she said.

The Constitutional Court will next week hear the challenge and possibly make a determination before April 16, the Nomination Court date for the by-elections.