Timba-led Chamisa faction fails

The High Court, led by Justice Faith Mushure, has dismissed an urgent application from the Jameson Timba-led faction of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) that sought to block another faction from receiving a share of the Political Parties' Fund.

The court's decision comes in the wake of a notice published in the Government Gazette last month, which indicated that the rival CCC faction, aligned with self-imposed interim secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu, is set to receive ZiG22,116,500 as part of a total of ZiG70 million allocated to political parties that participated in the August 2023 harmonised elections.

Timba's CCC faction had cited several respondents in the case, including Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube, Tshabangu, and Welshman Ncube, another leader from the competing CCC faction. However, Justice Mushure ruled that the application lacked urgency, as the Timba faction had waited too long to act.

"The applicants had ample time to address this issue, having been aware since the beginning of the year that Tshabangu would be allocated the funds," Justice Mushure stated. "There was an undue delay and laxity in bringing this application to court."

The judge noted that the circumstances leading to the urgent application were known to the Timba faction as far back as October 16, 2023, and emphasized that the faction did not take timely steps to prevent the perceived irreparable harm.

"An applicant is expected to have acted with the same urgency it wishes that the matter be accorded," she continued. "Given the perceived failure to respond from the first respondent and conflicting media reports, the applicant should have reacted immediately to remedy the alleged harm, rather than waiting until it was too late."

The Timba faction argued that failing to resolve the application urgently would result in irreparable harm, as they claimed there would be no way to recover the allocated funds from the Tshabangu faction. However, Justice Mushure countered this assertion, stating that the applicants did not provide compelling reasons to substantiate their claims.

"They simply make bare allegations," she stated. "The first applicant's right to the money remains open, even if the matter is not dealt with urgently."

The ruling signifies a setback for the Timba faction as they navigate the complexities of political funding and internal party dynamics.