MP Mubhawu says he accepts suspension but will defend himself in hearings

  By Lance Guma
18 October 2006

Timothy Mubhawu the Member of Parliament for Mabvuku-Tafara who was suspended over sexist remarks and causing violence in his constituency has said he will ‘humbly accept’ the suspension from the MDC and looks forward to defending himself before a disciplinary committee. He likened the MDC to a parent, with him being the child, and says if they feel he erred they have every right to discipline him. ‘Whether a parent rebukes you even if you haven’t done wrong, you accept,’ he told our Behind the Headlines programme. Mubhawu says he is a loyal son and cadre of the party and ‘whatever they decide I will accept.’ He however added that ‘the community will judge them (MDC) if they have done it wrongly.’

The MP refused to go into the details of the allegations against him saying the matter was subjudice and still to go before a hearing. He however maintains that his utterances in parliament that men and women are not equal were protected by parliamentary immunity and that ‘I can’t be guilty of speaking my mind.’ Mubhawu says he is fighting for family values and although he has no major problems with the Domestic Violence Bill certain clauses in it remain problematic and did not reflect the reality on the ground. He believes the majority of his problems have emanated from the media who have chosen to take their own angles to his statements.

A commission of inquiry investigating violence in Mabvuku noted that there were conflicts between the MP and the District. The MDC responded by dissolving the entire district and Mubhawu has been barred from interfering with party structures there. The MP seems to have made his position untenable by saying it is against God's principles that men and women are equal,’ during a parliamentary debate on the Domestic Violence Bill. The Women’s Coalition held street protests against him while the MDC’s own Women’s Assembly expressed outrage at his statements.