By Paul Nyathi
The Madzudzo Pawadyira-chaired caretaker commission that has been running the affairs of Chitungwiza municipality since May 2017 has been declared illegal by the High Court.
The 3-member commission was appointed by the then Minister of Local Government, Public Works and National Housing Saviour Kasukuwere after the suspension of the town’s entire elected councillors including the Mayor and deputy in April last year.
On Thursday, the Harare High Court judge Justice Jester Charehwa ruled that the term of office of the caretaker commission expired 90 days after its appointment and that its legal tenure could not be lawfully extended in terms of the Urban Councils Act.
The municipality was ordered to terminate the office of the caretaker commission and reinstate all acquitted councillors.
13 out of the 25 suspended councillors have been acquitted so far.
This ruling came after the Chitungwiza and Manyame Rural Residents Association (CAMERA) through the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) filed an urgent chamber application under case number HC2605/18 for a declaratory order and interdict on the 21st of March 2018 and cited Chitungwiza municipality, the Minister of Local Government, Madzudzo Pawadyira, Zivanai Chisango and Joshua Mabhiza as respondents. Pawadyira, Chisango and Mabhiza were the 3 members of the now illegal commission.
CAMERA led by Marvellous Khumalo argued in its application that the term of office of the commission had long expired while it continued to operate contrary to section 80 of the Urban Councils Act and this had adversely affected the state of service delivery as well as citizen participation in the affairs of Chitungwiza.
The local authority as the first respondent together with the other four respondents did not oppose the application by Chitungwiza residents but consented to the illegality of the commission.
CAMERA is proceeding to demand that the commission reimburses the municipality all the financial and material benefits that it accrued after the lapse of its 90 days term of office and that all the decisions made by the commission after the expiry of its tenure are rendered null and void.
The thirteen councillors are set to resume work on Monday.
The matter was heard by justice Jester Helena Charehwa.
“We obtained a judgment by consent to remove matter from the roll as the interim relief had been overtaken by events due to the fact that the councillors are back at work as at Monday.
“We will proceed by way of ordinary court application to seek final relief on the matter to render the caretaker’s functions after the 90 day period illegal,” ZHLR lawyer Idirashe Chikomba said.
Camera argued that the respondents have violated section 80(3) of the Urban Councils Act Chapter [29:15], which states that the tenure of a caretaker commission must terminate after 90 days.
The residents also argued that 13 out of the 25 Chitungwiza councillors, who were suspended last year in April have been acquitted.
Section 80(3) a states that “the care taker commission must terminate as soon as there are any councillors for the council area who are able to exercise all their functions as Councillors.”