By A Correspondent| National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) leader Professor Lovemore Madhuku has revealed that the opposition MDC was the first political party in Zimbabwe to use the recall clause forced into the country’s constitution by the late President Robert Mugabe who wanted to punish the late dissident, Edgar Tekere.

Madhuku who was speaking at the Zimbabwe Elections Support Network discussion said the recall clause was not part of the Lancaster House constitution until Mugabe amended the constitution after realising that Tekere who had been fired from Zanu PF would remain in the national assembly.

“Just for the record this clause has always been part of the Zimbabwean Constitution from 1989. It was actually a provision that we would call it the Tekere clause because it was brought in by President Robert Mugabe to deal with Tekere,

“He (Tekere) still remained a Member of Parliament despite leaving Zanu PF, the Lancaster House Constitution, our independence Constitution did not have such an undemocratic provision.

“So, President Mugabe was shocked to find out that Tekere would still seat in Parliament and he is the one who demanded that amendment to the Lancaster House Constitution.

“Unfortunately, or fortunately Tekere himself was not affected by it, the first person who left Parliament because of this provision is Munyaradzi Gwisai. In other words, the first political party to benefit from that provision is the MDC when Munyaradzi Gwisai left Parliament in 2002,” said Madhuku.

48 Members of Parliament have been recalled since the beginning of the 9th parliament following a Supreme Court ruling into the MDC succession disputes.

The legislators elected on an MDC Alliance ticket have cried foul that they are being ejected from parliament by a different party.