Wawi legislator Hamad Rashid Mohamed
The Board of Registered Trustees of the Civic United Front (CUF) on Friday submitted at the High Court a counter affidavit defending their decision to throw former Wawi MP and CUF party member Hamad Mohamed out of the party after a High Court order not to do so, citing that it was void and not delivered on time, in the case in which the former MP is contesting its decision.
Mr Mohammed and ten other members two weeks ago went to the High Court seeking an order to summon the opposition party’s Board of Registered Trustees over contempt of court after removing his membership even after the court had passed an order to prevent such a move.
According to the counter affidavit, which was delivered at the court at around 2:40 pm by the defence lawyer, Twaha Taslim, the court order which was delivered at the party’s headquarters in Zanzibar was a mere printout from an email thus not legal binding.
The counter affidavit further states that the court order was first delivered at the party’s head offices in Buguruni area in Dar es Salaam when by law it was supposed to have been delivered at its headquarters in Zanzibar. It claims that the photostat copy of the court order was received by the security guard at the gate of CUF headquarters after 4 pm when all employees of the respondent except the receptionist had left their offices as they normally close at 2pm.
It also claims that by the time the court order was delivered to the Board of Registered Trustees of CUF, they had already conducted a meeting and concluded and delivered their decision to expel Mohamed. The counter affidavit of civil case number 1 of 2012 is filed by Hamad Mohamed and ten other former party members including Shoka Juma, Doyo Doyo, Juma Sanani, Yassin Mrotwa, Kirungi Kirungi.
Others are Doni Mnamani, Mohamed Albadawi, Tamim Tamim, Nanjase Nanjase and Moahamed Nassaga and it is against the Board of Registered Trustees of CUF. Together with his colleagues, Mohamed wants the court to summon CUF National Council members, including the party’s secretary general, Mr Seif Shariff Hamad, to state why they should not be penalized for going against the court order that had wanted them to expel him after the beginning of the main case.
Mohammed and the team also want the court to nullify a decision reached on January 5, 2012 in Zanzibar by the CUF National Council to sack him and three other members. Through GF Law Chambers Advocates, he obtained a High Court order barring a CUF meeting from stripping him of his membership.
By JULIUS BWAHAMA, Tanzania Daily News
