Mliswa Says Parliament Speaker Mudenda Has No Choice But To Recall ZANU PF MPs

Temba Mliswa, a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Norton Constituency, has stated that the Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda, must expel the ZANU PF legislators who were recalled by Tafadzwa Manyika.

Mliswa argues that according to Section 129 (1) k of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, parties have the power to recall MPs, but it is not clear who specifically should carry out the recalls. The cited section reads:

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 f the Senate, as the case may be, has declared that the Member has ceased to belong to it.

Temba Mliswa, a former ZANU PF official, believes that the constitution needs to be amended to provide clear guidelines on who has the authority to recall MPs from Parliament. He expresses concern about the current situation where “unknown people” are able to initiate the recall process.

This comes as the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) has taken legal action to challenge the recalling of its 15 Members of Parliament (MPs) and some councillors by Sengezo Tshabangu, who claims to be the party’s interim Secretary-General. CCC leader Nelson Chamisa denies Tshabangu’s membership in the party and disputes the existence of an interim or substantive post in the party.

In another development, Tafadzwa Manyika, who asserts himself as the interim Secretary-General of ZANU PF, sent a letter to Jacob Mudenda, the Speaker of the National Assembly, instructing him to recall 70 ZANU PF legislators. Obert Mpofu, a former Minister of Mines, currently holds the position of Secretary-General in ZANU PF.

These recalls have created chaos in Parliament, with MPs taking their oaths of office just a month ago. In response, the CCC has disengaged from the National Assembly, Senate, and Local Government Authorities, and has given a 14-day ultimatum for the recalls to be reversed, threatening to withdraw its members if the demands are not met. ZANU PF says it is not bothered by Manyika’s letter to Mudenda.

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