By- Harare mayor Jacob Mafume has resisted being recalled from Town House by the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Speaking to ZimLive on Wednesday, Mafume argued that his purported recall is an attempt to cover up corruption at Harare City Council. He said:
The purported recall is null and void.
There is a court order which says I can only be recalled by Settlement Chikwinya (former PDP secretary-general), and he did not write this letter (to Moyo).
This purported recall is an attempt to cover up the thievery, the looting, the waste of council resources that they are doing.
I have refused to sign dubious contracts; I have refused to engage in dubious activities and I have refused to partake in the grand theft that is happening under July Moyo and his cronies.
I dismiss the recall with the contempt it deserves.
Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo on Tuesday wrote to Harare City Council notifying the local authority about Mafume’s recall by the PDP.
Mafume became a councillor in 2018 running on an MDC Alliance ticket but had been sponsored by the PDP which was one of the alliance parties.
However, by the time the 2018 general elections were held, individuals purporting to be current leaders of the PDP participated as members of the Rainbow Coalition led by Joice Mujuru.
Mafume was among several PDP officials who joined the MDC Alliance and had parted ways with Lucia Matibenga and others who joined the Mujuru-led coalition.
The Supreme Court later ruled that individual parties in the MDC Alliance could recall their members from councils or parliament.