Khupe's MDC sues Mudenda for ignoring Misihairambwi recall letter

THOKOZANI Khupe's MDC-T is set to approach the courts in a bid to compel Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda and Senate President Mabel Chinomona to act on letters of recall issued in respect of its members Priscilla Misihairambwi-Mushonga and Senator Mildred Dube.

According to party secretary general and interim leader Nickson Nyikadzino, Mudenda and Chinomona have conveniently ignored the letters sent on May 5.

This was a day after parliament acknowledged reinstated MDC-T secretary general Douglas Mwonzora's letters of recall on four top MDC Alliance leaders from the House of Assembly and Senate.

"The Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda has refused to act on the letters that we sent to him on 5 May, 2020 where we were giving notice of recall for Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga in which he was supposed to act according to Section 129 (K) of the constitution.

"Same applies to the Senate President where we wrote a letter of recall for Senator Mildred Dube for Bulawayo Province.

"The Senate President Mabel Chinomona also did not in one way or the other show any remorse or urgency to act according with our instruction as the sponsoring party for the Senator," said Nyikadzino.

He added, "We are left with no option but to take this up with the judiciary…to say that the two have actually abrogated their duties by not acting to our instruction as MDC-T.

"We have moved to another level."

Section 129 (K) of the constitution dictates the seat of a Member of Parliament becomes vacant if the Member has ceased to belong to the political party of which he or she was a member when elected to Parliament and the political party concerned, by written notice to the Speaker or the President of the Senate, as the case may be, has declared that the Member has ceased to belong to it.

Nyikadzino took charge of the smaller MDC-T after Khupe chose to acknowledge a Supreme Court ruling that anointed her President of the larger MDC in place of Nelson Chamisa whose rise was nullified.

Misihairabwi-Mushonga is said to be siding with Khupe, Mwonzora, former vice presidents Elias Mudzuri and Morgen Komichi.

They have opted to dump the splinter group and try to wrestle power from Zimbabwe's largest opposition party led by Chamisa.