Mafume survives a vote of no-confidence as Harare mayor

An attempt to remove Harare mayor Jacob Mafume failed today as councilors defied Chamisa and voted against vote of no confidence motion.

As Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) factionalism explodes, Ward 17 councillor Jacob Mafume has survived a vote of no-confidence as Harare mayor.

The motion of no confidence was tabled by councillor Blessing Duma and seconded by Jakopo Chibaba. The motion was supported by only 4 councillors supported with Mafume surviving with majority support.

Mafume bounced back as Harare Mayor after becoming the city's fourth mayor in less than four months.

Mafume defeated Clr Elvis Ruzani, who was the preferred candidate of CCC leader Mr Nelson Chamisa after being handpicked during the party's internal caucus meeting.

Mayor Mafume pulled 22 votes against Clr Ruzani's 15 while Zanu-PF's Temany Utete received 4 votes in a hotly contested poll to reclaim Harare's Mayoral seat.

Mafume held the mayoral position before the August 23 general elections in a torrid term which saw him enduring persecution ranging from arrests to suspension.

He is a founding member of the original Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) where he was expelled from the party in 2014 after he called for the resignation of party leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

His splinter group called the MDC Renewal Team later merged with other parties to form the People's Democratic Party (PDP), led by Tendai Biti.

Suspicions that he is working in cahoots with Tshabangu are currently rife within opposition circles.