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Chombo, councillors’ battle rages

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A BULAWAYO resident yesterday filed an urgent High Court application seeking to block two special interest councillors appointed by Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo from attending council meetings.

A BULAWAYO resident yesterday filed an urgent High Court application seeking to block two special interest councillors appointed by Local Government minister Ignatius Chombo from attending council meetings. REPORT BY SILAS NKALA

On Monday, Alick Gumede had taken Chombo to court, seeking to prevent the swearing-in of Siphiwe Ncube and Gacha Mazithulelela, but withdrew the application yesterday after he was informed that they had already been sworn in.

The two councillors were reportedly sworn in by the Bulawayo town clerk Middleton Nyoni before the application was filed on Monday.

“We have withdrawn that application since what we intended to stop has already been done, but today (yesterday) we filed another application at the same court seeking to block the councillors from attending any council meetings or accessing any council documents,” Gumede’s lawyer, Job Sibanda, said.

Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Andrew Mutema had been scheduled to hear the case yesterday before it was revised.

Chombo is cited as the first respondent, while Middleton Nyoni is the second respondent in the case.

Bulawayo City Council is the third respondent and Ncube and Mazithulela are cited as fourth and fifth respondents respectively.

In the court papers, Gumede argues Ncube and Mazithulela’s appointment “is so grossly irregular as to defy logic and is void as the life of council to which they have been appointed comes to an end virtually in the next month or so”.

“Such appointment shall not benefit council, but shall only drain the financial resources of council to which applicant is a contributor by virtue of him being a ratepayer and furthermore,” reads part of the application.

Chombo on February 22 advised council that he had appointed Ncube and Mazitulela in terms of section 4A of the Urban Councils Act Chapter 29:15.

But Gumede of Pelandaba and a member of the Bulawayo Progressive Residents’ Association said Chombo “may not act as a law unto himself without consequences or without being called upon to account”.

The latest court case comes barely a month after another resident, Jack Matshazi, blocked Chombo from causing the swearing-in of Fedelis Fengu as a special interest councillor representing people with disabilities.

Bulawayo High Court judge Justice Lawrence Kamocha on January 21 granted an interim order interdicting council from swearing in Fengu.

Chombo is yet to respond to the latest lawsuit.