A huge section of Bulawayo residents went into ecstasy that had stretched into the night following a High Court ruling by Justice Thomson Mabhikwa that controversial Ward 3 councillor Tinashe Kambarami was not eligible to hold a council seat as he has a criminal record.

Justice Thomson Mabhikwa on Thursday morning passed the ruling in a case where 1893 Mthwakazi Restoration Movement Trust was seeking an order nullifying his election as ward councillor, citing his criminal record.

Clr Kambarami was in July last year convicted of theft by Bulawayo provincial magistrate, Ms Sharon Rosemani, under case number CRB 1981/18.

He was fined $80 or 18 days in prison for stealing an extension cord from an electrician he had hired to work at his offices.

The ruling by Justice Mabhikwa means Kambarami ceases to be both a councillor and the city’s deputy mayor.