Member of Parliament from the south-eastern Zimbabwe lost his seat after a court gave him 10 years in jail after he was convicted for raping his 11 year old niece six years ago reports The Chronicle.
The MP Munyaradzi Kereke was expelled from the southern African country’s parliament yesterday after the National Assembly Deputy Speaker Cde Chinoma announced that the politician had lost his seat after being sentenced to serve time in prison.
It was from Section 129 of the Constitution that the Deputy Speaker made the decision on. The constitution states that ‘The seat of a Member of Parliament becomes vacant if the member id convicted in Zimbabwe of an offence that is a breach of trust, dishonest or physical violence in an essential element or is sentenced to more than six months of imprisonment.
“Accordingly, necessary administrative measures will be taken to inform His Excellency President Robert Mugabe and the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission of the existence of the vacancy in terms of the Electoral Act” said Cde Chinoma
This means that there would be a by-election in Bikita West constituency, in south-eastern Zimbabwe.
Kereke was sentenced to 14 years behind bars for the rape but the magistrate set aside four years on condition he does not commit a similar offence within that period.
