Source: CITE
Bulawayo Mayor, Senator David Coltart, has publicly denounced what he terms an “illegal and unlawful” extension of Town Clerk Christopher Dube’s contract, revealing a shocking pattern of intimidation, threats against councillors and a complete breakdown of orderly council proceedings that has left the city’s administration in legal limbo.
The mayor’s explosive revelations came during a press conference at his mayoral parlour on Friday afternoon, called to correct what he described as “fundamentally incorrect” reports in state-controlled media regarding the status of the Town Clerk’s employment contract.
“The reason for this press conference is because both of these articles are incorrect,” Coltart stated, referring to two reports published in state controlled media on November 17, 2025 and November 20, 2025.
“They concern matters of great importance to the city of Bulawayo and its residents. It’s important that the correct factual position be placed before the public.”.
The mayor systematically dismantled the media reports, pointing out critical factual errors. “Regarding the second article published yesterday on 20 November, 2025 there are numerous errors in that document. For example, it says in a council meeting yesterday, namely 19 November 2025, there was no council meeting on 19 November, 2025. The last full council meeting was held on 5 November, 2025 and I personally did not attend any meeting of council on 19 November 2025,” he said.”.
“In fact, I’m not aware of any council meeting which was held on that day. It also refers to a meeting attended by (Bulawayo Provincial ) Minister of State, Judith Ncube and Minister of Local Government, Daniel Garwe. No such meeting was held at which both of them attended.
Bulawayo Town Clerk Christopher Dube.
Coltart expressed his strongest criticism for the core claim of the reporting, saying the worst aspect of the report is the completely false reporting regarding the extension of the town clerk’ contract.
“In fact, it purports that there was a legal resolution passed, and as set out in the statement, that is not the case. At present, there is no binding legal resolution regarding the town clerk’s extension.”.
Coltart provided a detailed chronology of events that revealed an administration in crisis, marked by unprecedented hostility and procedural violations.
The conflict originated in September when the Human Capital Director brought a resolution to the General Purposes Committee seeking to extend Dube’s contract until age 70, based on Statutory Instrument 197 of 2024.
Concerns were immediately raised about whether the SI applied to fixed-term contracts, with Coltart warning that setting a precedent could have “much wider implications for the Civil Service.”.
The mayor said the situation escalated dramatically during a meeting on September 30, 2025 when the Town Clerk threatened him “in the presence of the Human Resources Director and the Deputy Mayor.”.
Coltart revealed that Dube has since apologised in writing “for losing his temper.”.
The crisis reached its peak during the Full Council meeting on November 5, 2025.
