×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Grace heckler dies in car crash

News
BULAWAYO Zanu PF youth leader, Magura Charumbira, famed for heckling former First Lady Grace Mugabe at presidential interface rallies, has died.

BULAWAYO Zanu PF youth leader, Magura Charumbira, famed for heckling former First Lady Grace Mugabe at presidential interface rallies, has died.

BY OBEY NMANAYITI

Police spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Paul Nyathi said Charumbira died yesterday morning, when his car rammed into a stationary vehicle in Norton along the Harare-Bulawayo Highway.

Zanu PF secretary for youth affairs, Pupurai Togarepi, confirmed the incident, saying they were still waiting for the family to announce funeral arrangements.

“At this point, what we know is that he was involved in an accident with a stationary lorry. In terms of burial arrangements, that will come from the family,” Togarepi said.

Two months ago, Charumbira led a group of Zanu PF youth into booing and heckling Grace Mugabe in November at an interface rally in Bulawayo.

The incident angered former President Robert Mugabe, culminating in the dismissal of then Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa two days later, as he was accused of funding the hecklers.

Soon after Mnangagwa’s departure, the military stepped in and forced Mugabe to resign, paving the way for his former VP to take over as President.

Charumbira rose to infamy over his strong stance against the Zanu PF G40 faction, which at one time led to his expulsion for indiscipline.

During the burial of former Masvingo Provincial Affairs minister Shuvai Mahofa, Charumbira reportedly organised other youth from across the country to bar former Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko from officiating at the proceedings.

Just recently, Charumbira was accused of being at the forefront of torturing Mthwakazi Republic Party activists, who demonstrated against Mnangagwa in Bulawayo.

The activists were then detained by the army, who later handed them over to the police, but the courts freed them without charge.

Charumbira had also been involved in various skirmishes in Bulawayo and was once accused of extorting money from vendors, allegedly demanding $2 each from the informal traders as protection fees.

He was also allegedly stabbed in the head at the Zanu PF Bulawayo headquarters after a fight broke out between supporters of different factions of the party, leading to his arrest on suspicions that he was the instigator.