MDC councillor takes Chombo's to court for unlawful dismissal

Umguza rural district Councillor, Mxolisi Ndlovu, has taken Ignatius Chombo, the Minister of Local Government, Rural and Urban Development to court over unlawful dismissal.

Councillor Ndlovu was dismissed by Chombo last November on allegations of misconduct.

However, Councillor Ndlovu has filed papers at the High Court in Bulawayo challenging his dismissal by Chombo who has been fingered in several cases of corruption including illegally acquiring land in urban and rural councils across the country.

In his court papers, Councillor Ndlovu argues that his dismissal by Chombo is politically motivated. "The investigations that led to me being charged with seven counts of misconduct were patently biased and clearly conducted along politically partisan lines," Councillor Ndlovu said in his court papers.

"The investigation team only confined itself to and obtained statements from people only affiliated to Zanu-PF and shunned and avoided those affiliated to the MDC to which I am affiliated to. This on its own was a strong bias that compromised the whole process and First Respondent (Chombo) should not have persisted with the process amidst such blatant partisanship," the court papers read.

Councillor Ndlovu said the decision made by Chombo was premeditated and biased. "All the charges were trumped up against me to silence me for my vocal objections and exposure of tender corruption to the Ilitshe Road. The whole process was a way of punishing me for exercising my right to speak about the illegality of the public tender process," said Councillor Ndlovu.

Since 2008 when the majority of current councillors were voted into office on an MDC ticket, Chombo has been destabilising the operations of the MDC led - councils and suspending the democratically elected councillors on phoney corruption charges.