KWEKWE — A top Zanu PF Midlands provincial official Owen Ncube, also known in the Midlands mining town as Mudha, and three party members are demanding $10 000 each from a prominent war veteran and party activist whom they accused of defaming them. REPORT BY OWN CORRESPONDENT
Ncube, who is the Zanu PF provincial secretary for security and his colleagues Moses Murada and Tapiwa Muto, have through their lawyer Valentine Mutatu given fellow party member David Mutiminyi Juro seven days to pay up or face legal action.
The three accused Juro of writing to Zanu PF national political commissar Webster Shamu alleging that they were fanning divisions within the party.
On January 16 this year, the lawyer for the three wrote to Juro saying: “We act on behalf of Owen Ncube (Mudha), Moses Murada and Tapiwa Muto. We have instructions that on the 24th of September 2012 and at Kwekwe, you wrote a letter to national political commissar of Zanu PF Shamu, wherein you defamed our clients. You also deliberately leaked the document to other Zanu PF members and supporters in the Kwekwe community.
“The letter you wrote was wrongful and defamatory of our clients in that you created an impression that our clients are not law abiding citizens, they are fomenting division within Zanu PF by engineering regionalism and factionalism. The statements are false and malicious and were made with the intention to defame and injure our clients’ reputation in Kwekwe community and within the party structures nationally.
“The statement was obviously understood by the addressee and other members and supporters of Zanu PF in Kwekwe community. As a result of the defamation our clients have been defamed in their reputation and have suffered damages in the sum of $10 000 each.
“We have therefore been instructed to demand as we hereby do, that you deposit the money with us or make arrangements for payment of same within the next seven days.
“If you fail to do so, we shall proceed to institute court action without further notice.”
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In the alleged letter to Shamu, dated September 24 2012, Juro said: “The politics of Kwekwe gradually changed to certain unbecoming levels. The need to create political empires in the name of Zanu PF was a primary concern. The methods used to create empires were unacceptable.
“The youths wear party regalia before they act. People were threatened, beaten and driven to rallies by violent youths in party regalia. Therefore our youths believed in violence in order to achieve their goals.
“We have got a number of misguided leaders who move around to mislead the youths in order to protect their interests in the party. This caused the disbandment of district co-ordinating committies’s (DCCs).
“But the disbandment of DCCs was not the only answer. The provincial members are busy organising the former DCCs and are still recognised as DCC members. They are actually replanted into the districts.”
He further claimed the three led a militant group known as Al-Shabaab and called upon the party to take corrective measures to contain the youths.
Juro could not be reached for comment last night.
