MDC legislators are set to approach the courts following Tuesday ruling by the Speaker of the National Assembly Jacob Mudenda concerning the walk out at the official opening of parliament in Harare.
Mudenda ruled that MPs will not receive sitting allowances for the past five months after they walked out of the National Assembly chamber when President Mnangagwa was about to present his State of the Nation Address (SONA).
“The behaviour which has been demonstrated by the honourables who walked out when His Excellency the President started to speak shall not be allowed to come back during this sitting today and accordingly, they will not receive their sitting allowances today and also I am aware that they put together a pay sheet for the past outstanding sitting allowances for the past five months,” Mudenda said.
In an interview with Zim Morning Post, MDC chief whip Prosper Mutseyami said the party disagreed with the Speaker’s judgment and will approach the courts.
“The Speaker is not right at all. But we must seek redress through the courts of the land. His position was just out of order,” Mutseyami said.
He added the Speaker should have given the MDC legislators a written warning first before passing such a judgment.
“Naturally he could have come up with a statement of rebuking the MPs and maybe give them a warning in a form of a statement nor to exclude the day sitting allowances for the day we walked out,” he added.
On the other hand, Zanu PF chief whip Pupurai Togarepi said Mudenda’s ruling is justified.
“That judgment was a good idea because it was overdue, MDC legislators were violating the parliament’s rules forgetting the people they represent and they cannot continue to receive allowance when they walkout of the sessions,” Togarepi said.