WATCH: Bulawayo – Tale of two deputy mayors

Vusumuzi Dube, Online News Editor
CONFUSION in the opposition controlled Bulawayo City Council has come to the fore with the city becoming the only one in the country with two deputy mayors.

Mr Tinashe Kambarami, after a High Court judgment ruling reinstated him last week, contended that he was back in office while Councillor Mlandu Ncube who was elected in October 2020 to replace Mr Kambarami also insisted he was still in office.

The confusion in the council chambers comes after the High Court ruled in Mr Kambarami’s favour in a case where he was challenging his recall by MDC-T leader Mr Douglas Mwonzora.

Mr Kambarami had been initially recalled after Justice Thompson Mabhikwa nullified his election as a councillor in a case where the 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.

However, the High Court judgment comes at a time when councillors in October 2020 had already elected Clr Ncube as substantial Deputy Mayor.

In his judgment, High Court judge Justice Martin Makonese ruled that the letter to recall Mr Kambarami by the MDC-T was null and void as he was not a councillor by the time it was written.

“The decision of the Second Respondent (MDC-T) to expel or arrive at the determination that Applicant is no longer a member of the Second Respondent (MDC-T) to be declared unlawful is set aside, consequently, the letter written by the Second Respondent to the Third Respondent (Minister of Local Government and Public Works, July Moyo) is declared null and void.

“Consequently, it is declared that the announcing of the recall of the Applicant by the Third Respondent through the letter dated 11 September 2020 is null and void. Consequently, there being no lawful encumbrance to the resumption of Applicant’s duties, the First Respondent (City of Bulawayo) shall immediately admit the Applicant to Council pursuant to his reinstatement by operation of the law following the judgment in case number SC 66/21 on 27 May 2021,” reads part of the judgement.

Commenting on the latest development, Mr Kambarami said the judgment was clear, he was back in office.

“For now I wouldn’t say much because my understanding is that council is then supposed to sit and deliberate on the issue.

But maybe for one to understand the issue let me give a background; my election was nullified by Chief Justice Mabhikwa, he actually nullified my election as a councillor and also my election as a Deputy Mayor.

“I then appealed Chief Justice Mabhikwa’s ruling and that was then set aside by the Supreme Court, meaning I was taken back to the position I was, as councillor and Deputy Mayor.

Then there was the issue of the recall, where when I tried to go back to council they resisted saying I must deal with the issue of the recall,  which I have dealt with.

The issue of being councillor and Deputy Mayor was dealt with at the Supreme Court, so in short I am the councillor for ward three and Deputy Mayor for the City of Bulawayo,” said Mr Kambarami.

Contacted for comment, Clr Ncube also insisted that he was still the city’s Deputy Mayor.

“As far as I am concerned I am the Deputy Mayor, I have not received any communication contrary to that,” said Clr Ncube.

Council chamber secretary Mrs Sikhangele Zhou, who leads the local authority’s legal section, said they will only have an official position on the matter after they are served with the High Court order.

“As it stands we do not have an official position because we have not been served with the High Court order, as soon as we get it we will then go over it and inform the public of our position.

He (Kambarami) also called me earlier today (Friday) on the matter but I informed him that we are yet to be served (with the court papers), I am out of town at the moment but I can confirm that by end of day Friday we had not received anything,” said Mrs Zhou.

Meanwhile, the reinstated Mr Kambarami said his time outside council had taught him a lot and he was now in a position to continue the mandate he was sent to do by the people of Ward Three when he was elected.

“It was not easy, you know the legal battles, it becomes so hectic and so frustrating, at some point you tell yourself that let me just let go but at the same time you have got that conviction that tells you that you need to pursue this and that you still have something that you have to do for the residents of Bulawayo.

At the same time it has been some kind of training because you get to learn a lot of things in the process, you get to learn some ups and downs as a leader that at the end of the day gets to build you and makes you stronger because there is a way that you get to look at things from a different perspective,” said Mr Kambarami.

He said there were a number of issues that need to be tackled in the city as a matter of urgency, including water shortages and the parking management system, which he noted was largely unpopular in the city.

“Going forward there are quite a number of issues that are going on in the city, the first and most important being the issue of water, as we are all aware there are people who have gone for over two weeks without water which is a big problem because this exposes people to a lot of health hazards.

Further, we cannot live as a modern city, going for two weeks without water at a time we are aiming to be a smart city.

This water issue, the Bulawayo City Council has been seized with it for some time, which by now as leaders we should have come up with a solution and meaningful solutions that will get these problems finished once and for all,” he said.

On the parking management system issue, Mr Kambarami said there was a wholesome need to change the business model of the deal, as the local authority’s partner, Tendy Three Investments were “engrossed in milking members of the public rather than providing a service”.