News / National
Chamisa's CCC faction joins court proceedings versus Tshabangu
06 Dec 2023 at 05:10hrs | Views
The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) faction led by Nelson Chamisa has entered court proceedings in response to Sengezo Tshabangu's case seeking the exclusion of its legislators from participating in the upcoming by-elections under the party banner.
Tshabangu, asserting his position as CCC's interim secretary-general, recalled 15 MPs in October, contending that they were no longer members of the party. The recalled lawmakers filed an urgent chamber application, which the High Court dismissed, ruling that they failed to prove their ongoing membership with CCC. The court also deemed their failure to cite CCC in the application as fatal to their case.
Subsequently, the recalled legislators filed an appeal, but it was struck off the roll by the Supreme Court due to incorrectly filed papers. Tshabangu also filed another application, arguing that the recalled MPs should not be allowed to submit nomination papers for the by-election under the CCC.
Originally scheduled for Tuesday, the hearing was postponed to Wednesday after CCC sought to join the proceedings. Nqobani Sithole, representing Tshabangu, explained that the bone of contention revolved around the issue of double candidates, where expelled individuals filed papers under the CCC's name.
"When this matter was filed, there is a party that also calls itself CCC, which had asked for a joinder and was officially joined through a court order and will now be respondent number 25," Sithole stated.
Upon filing the application, Tshabangu's lawyer, Lewis Uriri, emphasized that challenging the recall was the logical step following the High Court's ruling.
"These people were recalled by the CCC. They challenged their recall in the High Court, and the court upheld the recalls. As a result, we know for a fact that they ceased to be members of parliament on account of their recall by CCC. They then proceeded to file their nomination papers under the CCC, the very same party that recalled them," said Uriri.
He argued that the recalled MPs were improperly nominated since the party that recalled them did not endorse their nomination papers. The legal team seeks to have their names expunged from the list of valid nominees, preventing them from appearing on the ballot paper.
Tshabangu, asserting his position as CCC's interim secretary-general, recalled 15 MPs in October, contending that they were no longer members of the party. The recalled lawmakers filed an urgent chamber application, which the High Court dismissed, ruling that they failed to prove their ongoing membership with CCC. The court also deemed their failure to cite CCC in the application as fatal to their case.
Subsequently, the recalled legislators filed an appeal, but it was struck off the roll by the Supreme Court due to incorrectly filed papers. Tshabangu also filed another application, arguing that the recalled MPs should not be allowed to submit nomination papers for the by-election under the CCC.
Originally scheduled for Tuesday, the hearing was postponed to Wednesday after CCC sought to join the proceedings. Nqobani Sithole, representing Tshabangu, explained that the bone of contention revolved around the issue of double candidates, where expelled individuals filed papers under the CCC's name.
Upon filing the application, Tshabangu's lawyer, Lewis Uriri, emphasized that challenging the recall was the logical step following the High Court's ruling.
"These people were recalled by the CCC. They challenged their recall in the High Court, and the court upheld the recalls. As a result, we know for a fact that they ceased to be members of parliament on account of their recall by CCC. They then proceeded to file their nomination papers under the CCC, the very same party that recalled them," said Uriri.
He argued that the recalled MPs were improperly nominated since the party that recalled them did not endorse their nomination papers. The legal team seeks to have their names expunged from the list of valid nominees, preventing them from appearing on the ballot paper.
Source - newsday
