FORMER Zanu PF legislator for Harare South Shadreck Mashayamombe has said President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s pledge for free and fair elections will remain a pipe dream if his administration continues to harass candidates from opposition political parties.
BY EVERSON MUSHAVA
Mashayamombe, now an MDC Alliance candidate, has been in and out of court after Vice-President Constantino Chiwenga addressed a rally in the constituency early this month threatening to descend hard on him.
The former Zanu PF Harare provincial commissar was hunted down by the police a day before the sitting of the nomination court and was arrested over a 2014 case of violence when he was coming out of the nomination court.
Mashayamombe yesterday claimed that since Chiwenga’s threats, he has been hounded in an attempt to derail his campaign bid against Mnangagwa’s close relative, Tongai Mnangagwa, the Zanu PF candidate for the area.
“How can we say we have free and fair elections when other candidates are victimised day in, day out?” he asked.
“I respect Chiwenga as my father, as a person who I once worked with, but it is sad that since his address in the constituency, day in and day out, people are being forced to testify against me.
“His utterances were very unfortunate coming from a government leader. We thought the new dispensation would usher in equal opportunities without victimisation of others.
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“The police arrested me on trumped up charges and the intention was obvious, to prevent me from filing as an MDC Alliance candidate.”
Mashayamombe was fired from Zanu PF in November last year over his G40 links after the military intervention that catapulted Mnangagwa to power.
“If they want to arrest me, they can; little as I am, but it is sad they have been trying to influence the decisions of the judiciary to harass me because I am a candidate while they tell the world they are committed to free and fair elections.
“I was expelled from the party and have the right to represent any party I want without harassment.”
Mashayamombe claimed Harare South residents were being told every day by Zanu PF that he would be arrested soon.
He said hounding people after they leave office should be condemned because it promotes a culture where leaders resist leaving power, which has been the case with Zanu PF members.
