Terrence Mawawa| Norman Mukandagumbo, a lawyer and a founding member of the Friends of SMM (SMM), strongly believes Zimbabwean Parliamentarians are untouchable and unaccountable.
Mukandagumbo is a practicing lawyer under TK Takaindisa Law Chambers specializing in corporate law.
He was was born in Chivi District on 18 June 1989 and is a holder a Bachelor of Laws Degree from Midlands State University.
“It is true that I joined YARD sometime in 2017 as an ordinary member but was subsequently accepted in the YARD National Legal team. The founder of this organization was Hon. Mliswa and we were all excited by the organization’s reform and development agenda for the youth. The issue related to the application of the Reconstruction Act in relation to the affairs of SMM was very much part of the YARD mandate. It was in this context that I also became a founding member of FOSMM,” said Mukandagumbo.
He further stated that: “I have a personal and special relationship with SMM as both my parents worked for the company. It was my general understanding that the reason that the company was placed under reconstruction because it was indebted to the state and was also insolvent. I had no idea of the specific circumstances of SMM and the extent of its alleged indebtedness to the state at the material time.
I was then made aware of the existence and operations of the Act. This prompted us as members of FOSMM to interrogate the constitutionality and legality of the Act. Upon review of the Act, it was patently clear to all of us that the Act was draconian and could not possibly pass any constitutional muster. In the circumstances, the inescapable conclusion is that the Act is ultra vires the constitution.”
“I have said this before, the facts and circumstances of the divestment of SMM’s shareholders of their right to appoint and remove directors of the company and the divestment of the company’s directors of the control and management of the company is contrary to the provisions of the Companies Act. As I said before, I was one of the founding members of the whats up group called YARD-SMM Network that was initiated to share insights and experiences on rule of law matters. It was unfortunate that after the Norton by-election, Hon Mliswa has not been reachable and in fact has become untouchable. I have tried in vain to reach out to him but it would appear that anything to do with SMM and the Reconstruction Act, he does not want to attend to it.”
” I would have thought that the facts related to the SMM matter would have been useful to Hon Mliswa in dealing with the Hwange matter but clearly this matter of public interest is now off his radar. I have come to accept that most MPs do not take advice from people like us or organisations like SMM. It is unfortunate that the law does not give room for the electorate to recall their MPs and as such the MPs become subject to the whipping system controlled by their parties. It is not easy for the electorate’s interests to find expression in parliamentary business,” said Mukandagumbo.