By-The Nelson Chamisa-led Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) says it has appealed against a High Court decision to disqualify its candidates from contesting in the 09 December 2023 by-elections.

High Court Judge Justice Never Katiyo, Thursday granted an application by the party’s self-declared interim Secretary General Sengezo Tshabangu to bar recalled CCC candidates from participating in the upcoming by-elections.

CCC’s deputy spokesman Gift Siziba said the party has appealed against the decision by Justice Katiyo at the Supreme Court. He said:

In the Supreme Court, we have appealed against the decision of the High Court to side with Tshabangu at el in removing our candidates from the by-election.

There’s no way we can have an election without candidates that were legitimately nominated.

ZANU PF is afraid of an election, they were rejected even in a flawed election 23rd. We will not accept this, we will fight!

Meanwhile, Tshabangu’s lawyer Advocate Lewis Uriri was reported as saying that the order granted by the High Court today in the case of the recalled CCC MPs standing in by-elections is “declaratory and an appeal will not suspend the order.”

However, CCC legislator, Fadzayi Mahere argued that Uriri’s assertion is incorrect. Said Mahere:

That’s incorrect. An appeal suspends the operation of a court order. In the case of Musa Kika v Luke Malaba CJ HH 287/21, the court held that an appeal suspends an order appealed against including declaratory orders that grant consequential relief such as an interdict.

This is exactly the case in the by-election recalls case. Once an appeal is noted, that order will no longer be operative. That’s the law.

Justice Katiyo barred the 22 recalled CCC Members of the National Assembly from contesting in Saturday’s by-election after ruling that the move by the nomination court to accept their papers was unlawful.