Lucia Matibenga

Service/Career

In the 2013 Elections, (see A History of Zimbabwean Elections) Kuwadzana returned to Parliament:

• Lucia Matibenga of MDC–T with 8 564 votes or 61.31 percent,
• Betty Nhambu of Zanu PF with 4 345 votes or 31.10 percent,
• Kurauone Chihwayi of MDC–N with 960 votes or 6.87 percent,
• 1 other with 100 votes or 0.72 percent.

Total 13 969 votes

Matibenga was the Minister of Labour and Public Service during the Government of National Unity from 2011 to 2013. ^[1]
She was also chairperson of the Women's Council in the MDC-T party before she moved out to join the renewal team. ^[2]

Events

Recall 2015

The elections of July 2013 brought an end the Government of National Unity. The Movement for Democratic Change was then marred by factional fights emanating from serious differences in ideological grounds. The opposing faction led by the Secretary General Tendai Biti and Elton Mangoma eventually broke away to form their own party called the MDC Renewal Team in 2014. After the breakaway, the MDC-T President Morgan Tsvangirai made a request to parliament to recall the so-called rebel MPs from parliament since they were no longer part of the MDC-T.

On 17 March 2015, the speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda made a parliamentary ruling that the 21 MPs who had defected from the MDC-T party were no longer members of parliament and their seats were declared vacant. Matibenga was one of the 21 MPs who were expelled from parliament after the ruling.

References