CCC councillors survive ouster

THREE Bulawayo Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) councillors have survived ouster after a camp aligned to self-imposed secretarygeneral Sengezo Tshabangu (pictured) withdrew their case seeking their recall from council.

They withdrew the cases before Bulawayo electoral court Judge Justice Bongani Ndlovu on Tuesday.

Councillors Donaldson Mabutho, Tinevimbo Maposa and Mmeli Moyo were dragged to court by Tshabangu's camp which was challenging their re-election on a CCC ticket during the December 2023 by-elections.

Tshabangu had recalled them, alongside other CCC Members of Parliament (MPs), on grounds that they had ceased to be party members. However, the cases were withdrawn after it was set down in the Electoral court.

The petitioners had applied for the setting aside of their election, citing irregularities based on the respondent's misrepresentation to the nomination court that they were CCC members.

The three councillors were represented by CCC head of legal Affairs Agency Gumbo.

In his submission, Maposa said the petitioners were offside. “I submit that this petition renders the entire petition invalid as the petitioner cannot base his application on a wrong provision of the law. There was never any challenge by the petitioner against my nomination,” Maposa submitted.

“The petitioner had an opportunity of challenging any nomination in terms of the Electoral Act, which if successful could have set aside the nomination and prevented me from contesting the election, this was not done.

“The petitioner cannot use a legal extant process as a ground for advancing a petition against election without seeking the setting aside of that process.''

The CCC split into two after former leader Nelson Chamisa quit the party citing infiltration by Zanu PF and its proxies.