A chief has dismissed reports he ordered Masvingo Central MP Jeffryson Chitando to appear before his traditional court for allegedly failing to properly account for Constituency Development Funds (CDFs).
According to reports, Chief Ephius Murinye had also intended to charge Chitando for allegedly insulting him.
But the traditional leader told NewsDay the claims were baseless and challenged the MP to produce evidence of the summons.
“I never summoned anybody,” he defended himself.
“If the summons is available why don’t they bring it to you so that you can publish it in full in your newspaper?
“In fact, Chitando is the one who approached me concerning stories that he insulted me and I merely asked him to come so we could discuss the issue in his capacity as my nephew. That was not a summons.”
He rubbished claims that he wanted to be complainant, prosecutor and judge of the case.
The chief said he knew provisions of the Telecommunications Act and could have sued the MP for insulting him through short text messages if he wanted to.
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However, Chitando insisted he had been summoned and was expected to appear before the chief yesterday.
He denied ever insulting the chief or abusing CDF funds. He said the charges were politically motivated.
Chief Murinye denied claims he was partisan and accused the MDC-T of always looking for scapegoats instead of accepting responsibility.
The chief challenged the MDC-T to prove its members had been barred from his area.
