HARARE – The Citizens Coalition for Change led by Welshman Ncube on Thursday suspended Sengezo Tshabangu from party activities, a day after the High Court reversed the latter’s changes to the party’s parliamentary leadership.
Tshabangu, a senator in Matabeleland North, had acted “in brazen breach of the party constitution, rules and regulations,” Ncube said in a letter informing him of his suspension.
He will remain senator but the decision means that “you are suspended from positions that you hold or purport to hold in the partyand for and on behalf of the party including the positions of interim secretary general, leader of the opposition in the senate and leader of the opposition in parliament,” Ncube added.
Ncube said in November and December last year Tshabangu had “made or purported to make changes and decisions on behalf of the party without my authority or the authority of any organ of the party and communicating such decisions to state institutions in breach of the party’s constitution and rules.”
The row stems from a letter Tshabangu wrote to the Speaker of Parliament removing CCC vice president Karenyi Konye as leader ld the opposition in the National Assembly, while replacing other MPs in parliament’s standing rules committee.
The High Court on Wednesday ruled that the changes amounted to “recalls” which Tshabangu was barred from making by an ealier court ruling pending the finalisation of a court application brought by the party accusing him of being an imposter who imposed himself as secretary general before recalling dozens of MPs, senators and councillors in apparent collusion with the ruling Zanu PF party.
Ncube said Tshabangu would appear before a disciplinary committee of the party. His expulsion would result in his removal as senator in what would be the epilogue to a tumultuous time for the country’s main opposition, riven by disagreements, infiltration and struggle fatigue.
Tshabangu said he rejected Ncube’s authority and would be appealing the High Court judgement.
