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Zimbabwe's Elections 2013 - Index of Articles
Kereke
expulsion null, void
Tendai Kamhungira,
Daily News
October 24, 2013
http://www.dailynews.co.zw/articles/2013/10/24/kereke-expulsion-null-void
The Constitutional Court
has ruled the expulsion of Munyaradzi Kereke, the National Assembly
member for Bikita West from Parliament was null and void.
Kereke had sued
Zanu-PF for expelling him from Parliament
on the basis that he had been fired from the party and could not
purport to represent it in the august house.
However, nine Constitutional
Court judges yesterday ruled in Kereke’s favour.
“The termination
of the membership of Parliament of the applicant (Kereke) by first
respondent (Zanu-PF) dated the 3rd of October 2013, is null and
void and is hereby set aside,” Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku
said.
“The applicant
is a member of the National Assembly.”
Kereke made the application
after Jacob Mudenda, the National Assembly Speaker, advised him
that he was no longer the legislator for Bikita West. This was after
Zanu-PF wrote to Parliament advising of Kereke’s expulsion
from the party.
Kereke challenged
his expulsion from Parliament arguing that he had ceased to be a
Zanu-PF member by the time he was elected
on July 31.
The matter was heard
yesterday after Chidyausiku ruled last week that the case should
be heard on an urgent basis.
This was after Kereke
argued that the matter should be treated as urgent because the Bikita
West constituency had already been declared vacant and a by-election
could be called at any time.
He said he stood as
an independent candidate and funded his July 31 election campaign.
Kereke won the election
to represent Bikita West in Parliament ahead of Zanu-PF’s
Elias Musakwa and Heya Shoko from MDC.
But, Zanu-PF expelled
him for defying a party directive to step down and give way to Musakwa
in the polls.
Speaking to reporters
after the hearing of the case yesterday, Kereke said, “In
this matter there in no loser and there is no winner.”
He added, “It
really was a matter of establishing equilibrium as is engraved in
the constitution
of Zimbabwe.”
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