The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
WARD three councillor Tinashe Kambarami has accused Bulawayo mayor, Councillor Solomon Mguni of frustrating council management’s bid to effect his reinstatement.
The High Court recently ordered Mr Kambarami’s reinstatement after he challenged his recall by the MDC-T.
Mr Kambarami had been initially recalled after Justice Thompson Mabhikwa nullified his election as a councillor in a case where 1893 Mthwakazi Restoration Movement Trust was seeking an order nullifying his election as ward councillor, citing his criminal record. The reinstated councillor later won an appeal against his criminal case.
In his judgement, High Court Judge Justice Martin Makonese ruled that the letter to recall Kambarami by the MDC-T was null and void as he was not a councillor by the time it was written.
However, three weeks after the High Court judgement, Mr Kambarami is still to be reinstated.
In an interview with Sunday News Mr Kambarami took a swipe at Clr Mguni saying he was the reason behind the continued delay by council in implementing the High Court order.
He said as long as the mayor continued to frustrate the process he will be forced to take legal action against him.
“The mayor is the biggest problem, he is single handedly frustrating the whole process of my reinstatement. Last week he stopped a special council meeting as he said he was in Plumtree but my question is does council business stop because the mayor is not around.
“Right now Clr Mlandu Ncube is going around being introduced as the Deputy Mayor, something which he knows he isn’t, last Thursday he even went to the council stores department and collected the Deputy Mayor’s fuel allocation for the whole month, which is tantamount to fraud,” said Mr Kambarami.
He said he was now engaging his lawyers, saying he was now contemplating dealing with Clr Mguni legally, to force him to convene the special council meeting.
“Mguni is now in contempt as he is using his powers to block the reading of the order by council management. I say, reading, because this is not about any interpretation but about reading and implementing as the order is clear that I have been reinstated as ward three councillor and the city’s Deputy Mayor.
“If he continues doing this I will end up dealing with him as an individual. He cannot be allowed to continue furthering factional fights in council. If you don’t like me, you are free to go drink wine with your friends but when it comes to council business we have to follow the book. What Mguni should remember is that I was not elected by him, but the ward three community had confidence in me leading them,” said Mr Kambarami.
He said there was a need for council management to also advice Clr Mguni of the legal implications of the continued delay in implementing the court order.
“Mguni is a lawyer but I am shocked how he does not read the law to see the implications of all this. He should remember that he is too junior in politics which is why I think he is being this childish,” said an infuriated Kambarami.
