The Speaker of Parliament, Advocate Jacob Mudenda has dismissed allegations made by opposition politician Thokozani Khupe that Parliament was backing Nelson Chamisa in the MDC-T factional fights. This comes after Khupe was expelled from Parliament last week following her recall from the party by Nelson Chamisa.
Mudenda insisted that Parliament had acted according to the law. Said Mudenda,
Parliament doesn’t expel any Member of Parliament. Go to Section 129 of the constitution; you will be guided by the Constitution…you will appreciate the role of parliament.
Section 129 of the Constitution reads:
(k) 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 of Parliament or the President of the Senate, as the case may be, has declared that the Member has ceased to belong to it…
Khupe has since challenged her expulsion and instructed her lawyer, Lovemore Madhuku, to file an appeal at the Constitutional Court. She has also written to Parliament asking Mudenda to expel Chamisa because she has expelled him from the party.
More: New Zimbabwe