MARONDERA Municipality mayoral succession battle has reportedly intensified with MDC-T Marondera district chairman Chengetai Murowa accusing mayor Farai Nyandoro and councillor Johanes Razunguza of working in cahoots with the police to disrupt party activities in Mashonaland East province.
Report by Jairos Saunyama
This comes as the municipality recently sent town clerk Josiah Musuwo on a five-month forced leave over allegations of gross incompetence.
Murowa is reportedly eyeing the mayoral seat and Razunguza’s Ward 1 council seat.
In a letter dated April 3 2013, addressed to the party provincial chairman Piniel Denga, Murowa asked the party to take disciplinary action against Nyandoro and Razunguza.
Part of the letter reads: “I am also suspecting that they are the ones who called the police to come and confiscate radios meant for party members . . . We know as a district that Farai Nyandoro is being fully paid to disrupt party activities in Marondera Urban.”
Three days later, Nyandoro instructed his lawyer Mugove Mazanhi to file defamation charges against Murowa.
He is demanding $20 000 as compensation. Both Murowa and Nyandoro confirmed their public spate in separate interviews with NewsDay yesterday.
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Denga could not be reached for comment on his mobile phone. Confirming Musuwo’s suspension, Nyandoro said the town clerk had been sent on forced leave in February, but would continue receiving his salary and other perks until June 18.
“It is true that Musuwo is on forced leave. There was a full council meeting sometime in February and there was heated debate over his competence which most people doubted especially with regards to service delivery system,” he said.
Nyandoro added that Musuwo was also being accused of trying to circumvent the local authority policy by approaching the Labour court to change a 1992 council resolution on retirement age.
“There is a standing resolution which states that workers are to retire at 60, but Musuwo approached the Labour Court and tried to change that. As council, we thought he did that as an interested party since he is expected to retire next month (hence) he was trying to avoid retirement.
“More than 84 people retired as per that resolution. We are to approach Minister Ignatius Chombo over the matter,” he said.
