Harare West Member of Parliament Joanah Mamombe (CCC) is reportedly set to resign from a Parliament position following the ascension of Sengezo Tshabangu to the position of Leader of the Opposition in Parliament.
Tshabangu’s new position was announced by both National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda and the Deputy President of the Senate during Thursday’s sessions.
Tshabangu, who also appointed himself a PR Senator several months ago, will assume the role of primary spokesperson for the opposition in its dealings with the government and other stakeholders.
His responsibilities include the formation of parliamentary portfolio committees and the selection of opposition representatives for positions within international organisations such as the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), the SADC Parliamentary Forum, the International Parliamentary Union (IPU), and the African, Caribbean, and Pacific-European Union (ACP-EU).
As the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Tshabangu will also serve on the Parliament Standing Rules and Orders Committee.
Mamombe, a staunch ally of former CCC leader Nelson Chamisa, communicated with her constituency this Friday, informing them of her intention to resign from the Parliament position. She wrote:
The recent developments in Parliament have been rapid & unexpected. What transpired yesterday in the House has come as a complete shock to me.
I am currently in South Africa visiting a friend in the hospital battling with Cancer.
It is with a heavy heart that I address the attempts by some within the democratic space to use these parliamentary events to discredit me.
Let me be clear: Tshabangu is an imposter and is not my leader. I unequivocally REJECT his appointment as Chairperson of the Environment Committee. I have been serving in this post since October 12th, 2023 following my appointment by President Chamisa.
In light of these recent developments, I find it necessary to step down from my parliamentary position. I believe it is best to allow those who deem Tshabangu fit to take my place.
While I am away, my team in Zimbabwe is organising a formal rejection letter to be submitted to Parliament this afternoon.
However, Mamombe’s statement is not clear if she is quitting Parliament altogether or just stepping down from the post as chairperson of the Environment Committee.
Should Mamombe resign from Parliament, she would become the third CCC legislator to do so since the 2023 general elections, following in the footsteps of Fadzayi Mahere (Mt Pleasant) and Allan Markham (Harare East).
In a message to Pleasant Constituents announcing her resignation in late January this year, Mahere said she could not continue being a representative of a party whose leadership is unknown to her and whose motives and values are unclear.
Her resignation came just days after the party’s then-leader, Nelson Chamisa, had resigned from the party citing infiltration by ZANU PF.
In his resignation letter, Markham said that the party under which he was elected, CCC, had been infiltrated to an extent that it no longer represented his values and principles.
He said his decision to stand down was influenced by his assessment of the CCC’s alignment with his personal convictions.
