ZANU PF youths stormed Kwekwe City Council offices last Thursday, demanding the expulsion of mayor Matenda Madzoke and town clerk Emanuel Musara, on allegations of being sympathetic to underfire former Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
BY BLESSED MHLANGA
The ruling party youths accused Madzoke and Musara of having mobilised youths who booed First Lady Grace Mugabe during an interface rally in Bulawayo two weeks ago.
President Robert Mugabe has already given the green light for the purging of all Mnangagwa’s sympathisers in Zanu PF, government departments and parastatals, accusing his former deputy of capturing key State institutions with a view to topple him.
“The youths ran riot in town calling on the removal of the mayor and town clerk, accusing them of backing Mnangagwa and also being behind the embarrassment of the First Lady at the Bulawayo youth interface rally,” Tawanda Mafira, who witnessed the demonstrations, said.
Madzoke, who was out of town when the demonstrations happened, confirmed that he was being targeted by some elements in the party, who have personal scores to settle.
“I heard about the demonstration with the youths, accusing the deputy mayor John Mapurazi and myself of bussing people to Bulawayo under instruction to boo the First Family. This is nothing, but personal attacks by people who have scores to settle. I have no position in the province and have no duty in the mobilisation or transporting of people to rallies. I, therefore, don’t know how this comes back to me,” he said.
Madzoke said he was merely a civic leader although a member of Zanu PF, but expended his energy more in delivering on his civic duties than getting involved in factional politics.
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Musara is under fire after it emerged that he attended Mnangagwa’s infamous end-of-year party where the former VP was later captured on camera holding a mug cup inscribed I am the boss.
“Musara has always been protected by Mnangagwa, he ran council with the help of the former VP, dolling out council houses and tenders to those associated with Mnangagwa and, therefore, he should go,” a councillor, who refused to be named, said.
This came as prominent Bulawayo businessman and Zanu PF benefactor Raj Modi has also been accused of funding rogue party activists, who booed and heckled Grace at the rally in an incident which sealed Mnangagwa’s political fate.
Zanu PF supporters led by Magura Charumbira allegedly booed Grace before they were whisked away.
Zanu PF Bulawayo provincial chairperson, Dennis Ndlovu claimed yesterday that Modi supplied food and alcohol to Grace’s hecklers. “As Bulawayo province, we are very much concerned about Modi’s conduct. We are reliably informed that he is the one who supplied the people who booed our First lady with food and alcohol,” he said.
Ndlovu said the party has asked security agencies to investigate the Asian businessman.
“We hope the relevant security agencies will investigate these allegations fully. We cannot allow people to tarnish the province’s image.”
The call for Modi’s investigation over Grace’s Bulawayo ordeal came as police launched a manhunt for Charumbira, who reportedly went into hiding after the incident .
Modi is believed to be a Mnangagwa ally after the former VP officially opened the business mogul’s $1 million beer outlet, Centre Liquor Hub, in February 2015.
Early this year, Mnangagwa also presided over the ground-breaking ceremony of the businessman’s multi-million-dollar business complex in Cowdray Park.
Modi, who used to be Zimbabwe’s Choppies managing director before selling off his entire Sai Enterprises (Pvt) Ltd business to Botswana’s largest retail outlet, owns several business entities in the city.
