Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi and Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda clashed on Tuesday when Mudenda instructed Ziyambi to leave the National Assembly.
Ziyambi, who leads government business in the house, was supposed to introduce a motion regarding land tenure security legislation. Instead, he delegated this task to his deputy, Norbet Mazungunye.
Mudenda objected to this arrangement and demanded an explanation from Ziyambi as to why he couldn’t present the motion himself.
The Zanu PF chief whip attempted to justify Ziyambi’s absence by stating that the minister needed to attend the Senate, but Ziyambi clarified that he intended to converse with his staff at the back.
Ziyambi argued that there was no rule prohibiting the deputy minister from presenting the motion.
Mudenda retorted that private conversations do not take precedence, to which Ziyambi questioned the existence of any private conversation.
In a rare move, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Ziyambi Ziyambi – who is also Leader of Government Business in Parliament – was chucked out of Parliament by Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda for insisting on holding a private conversation during… pic.twitter.com/PdPn4jC39r
— TheNewsHawks (@NewsHawksLive) May 7, 2024
Mudenda then ordered Ziyambi to leave the house, which Ziyambi protested as incorrect.
Ziyambi and Togarepi approached Mudenda’s chair to further dispute the ruling. Mudenda’s microphone was initially on as Ziyambi angrily demanded clarification on the rule preventing a deputy minister from presenting a motion in the presence of the minister.
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Mudenda claimed the rule was in “section 107 of the constitution,” prompting Ziyambi to challenge him to open it. However, Mudenda did not open the constitution.
Ziyambi criticized Mudenda for being harsh and embarrassing his own minister.
Subsequently, Ziyambi, visibly upset, left the National Assembly.
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