Rebel MDC MPs kicked out of parliament

August 19, 2009

New Zimbabwe.Com
19 August 2009
By Lebo Nkatazo

THREE rebel MDC MPs were likened to a cancer on Tuesday as they were finally thrown out of parliament.

Nkayi South MP Abednico Bhebhe, Bulima East legislator Norman Mpofu and Njabuliso Mguni of Lupane East all ceased to be MPs after the Speaker of Parliament Lovemore Moyo notified President Robert Mugabe that their seats had become vacant following their expulsion by their party.

Moyo had been given an ultimatum by the MDC to eject the MPs from parliament by Tuesday or face a police complaint of corruption.

The Clerk of Parliament Austin Zvoma said: “The Speaker has written to notify the President and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission of the existence of vacancies in the respective constituencies by virtue of their expulsion.”

Khumalo Senator David Coltart, a senior member of the MDC led by Arthur Mutambara, liked the three legislators to a cancer – saying they were defying the party’s elected officers at every turn.

He said: “We clearly have a cancer within our party and when you have cancer, you have two choices: either you don’t operate and let it spread throughout the whole body, and it will kill you ultimately, or you try and deal with the cancer and root out that cancer.

“It can still kill you after you have rooted it out, but at least you have a chance of survival.

“We have leaders who were elected at a congress that they (the three MPs) attended and voted at themselves, ironically which I didn’t attend or vote at, and it is not time yet for our new congress and that leadership should be respected, that democratic process should be respected.”

Coltart pointed to a long history of defiance by the MPs, including attending meetings in Botswana with Moyo before he was voted Speaker of Parliament. It is claimed they received financial inducements to back his candidature for Speaker – defying their party position to vote for Paul Themba Nyathi.

“We have not asked for our members to be attending political meetings with members of other political parties damning our leadership,” Coltart said of the rallies the three MPs are said to have organised, at which they railed against their leaders.

Some of their rallies were attended by officials from the MDC faction led by Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, a disciplinary committee heard last month.