High Court orders MDC congress to determine Mativenga's fate

High Court orders MDC congress to determine Mativenga's fate

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By Staff Reporters

THE High Court in Harare on Friday skirted dealing with the dissolution of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC)’s women’s assembly and referred the matter to the party’s congress for determination.

Women’s assembly leader Lucia Matibenga made an urgent court petition on Monday following her ouster, citing the MDC and its chairperson Lovemore Moyo as respondents.

Morgan Tsvangirai, who heads a faction of the feuding MDC, endorsed the decision to dissolve Matibenga’s executive, saying this was part of a restructuring exercise to “strengthen the party”.

In court papers, Matibenga said the MDC constitution does not entitle the management committee chaired by Tsvangirai to fire her.

Following the court session Tendai Biti, the MDC faction’s secretary general, issued a statement saying that the court had ruled that Matibenga’s removal was constitutional.

The statement, titled ‘High Court rules dissolution of Women's Assembly executive was constitutional’ Biti said: “Today, the 26th October 2007, the High Court of Zimbabwe, in a two-hour hearing, considered the legality of the decision to dissolve the Women's Assembly and the legality of the decision to call for an extra-ordinary Congress to be held on 28 October 2007.

“The MDC is pleased to advise that the correctness of its decision has been vindicated and therefore the Congress of 28 October 2007 will proceed.”

However a perusal of the court order granted by the court would appear to contradict Biti’s claims that the sacking was “correct”.

The High Court order says members of the MDC must deal with the case at congress.

In its entirety, the order reads: “It is ordered the question of the validity of the dissolution of the national assembly of women is to be included on the agenda and determined by the congress on the 28th October 2007 or any other date to which it may be postponed. Each party bears its own costs.”

A member of the dissolved assembly said Tsvangirai was likely to cower delegates into sacrificing Matibenga.

She added that if the congress failed to put the issue on the agenda and proceeds with electing new members, Matibenga would go back to court, as it would be in contempt of the latest court order.

Tsvangirai’s sacking of Matibenga goes against the recommendations of a commission of enquiry appointed to deal with the matter.

The three-member enquiry that was chaired by Samuel Sipepa Nkomo with Kwekwe MP Blessing Chebundo and Gweru executive mayor Sessel Zvidzai had recommended that Matibenga be given three months to deal with issues that she was being accused of neglecting.
“The commission has observed that it will be prudent, noble and democratic to give women more time to solve their problems with the assistance of stakeholders in the women’s assembly,” the committee said.

It said the party’s leadership must “change its attitude towards the assembly, be accommodative, and resource it accordingly.”

The MDC split into two groupings in October 2005 when half the party’s MPs revolted, accusing Tsvangirai of abusing the MDC constitution. Tsvangirai had just vetoed an MDC national council resolution to field candidates for the senate elections later that year.

Ironically, Matibenga supported Tsvangirai then. But this week, she accused him of breaking the MDC constitution "left, right and centre".

The other MDC faction is led by Arthur Mutambara, a former NASA rocket scientist.
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