NYANGA — Zanu PF provincial structure disturbances yesterday escalated into violence in Nyanga where party national commissar Webster Shamu reportedly witnessed stone throwing and fistfights between rival factions led by Teddy Chitsumba and Moses Gutu.
Sources told NewsDay the violence broke out at Nyanga Country Club where Shamu was scheduled to meet the two rival factions.
Shamu was yesterday on a fact-finding mission in Manicaland where he is meeting disgruntled party members who demonstrated in Mutare last week alleging rampant rigging during the party’s district co-ordinating committee (DCC) elections.
“The two factions were gathered at the club awaiting Shamu’s arrival when they started to exchange harsh words accusing each other of election rigging. The misunderstanding degenerated into violence and some members were badly assaulted,” said a source.
Shamu reportedly arrived a little later and found the rival factions pelting each other with stones and other missiles. Shamu, the sources said, later addressed rival factions, but details of the meeting were not available at the time of going to print last night.
“At first police did not take any action until the situation went out of hand. They (police) were armed with baton sticks and it took them quite a long time to quell the violence. They had to use force because the situation had gone out of hand,” the source said.
Efforts to contact Shamu for comment were fruitless as his mobile number was unreachable. Police in Nyanga said they were yet to get a report on the violence.
“I am still to receive a report to that effect, so I will only be in a position to comment about that when I get the details,” said Nyanga district police spokesperson Assistant Inspector Musiiwa Bere.
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Two weeks ago, the rival factions clashed after members of Gutu’s faction won the disputed DCC elections held at the same venue.
After the elections, Chitsumba’s supporters picketed the party’s provincial office in Mutare for about a week demanding Shamu’s intervention. Shamu then met the warring parties and suspended the election results pending investigations.
