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Chief Ndiweni tears into CJ Malaba

ZimDecides18
NTABAZINDUNA Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni on Saturday pulled another shocker when he attended the opposition MDC party congress, where he attacked the ruling Zanu PF for “letting down the country”.
Chief Ndiweni. flanked by MDC chairperson Tabitha Khumalo and MDC leader Nelson Chamisa at the opposition party’s congress in Gweru at the weekend

BY BLESSED MHLANGA

NTABAZINDUNA Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni on Saturday pulled another shocker when he attended the opposition MDC party congress, where he attacked the ruling Zanu PF for “letting down the country”.

The Matabeleland North traditional leader, who is no stranger to controversy, also laid into Chief Justice Luke Malaba, accusing him of being captured by Zanu PF, especially when he ruled in favour of President Emmerson Mnangagwa following MDC leader Nelson Chamisa’s Constitutional Court challenge against the July 30, 2018 presidential election results.

Chief Ndiweni said his headmen from Ntabazinduna could have come up with a better ruling in Chamisa’s ConCourt challenge, which was dismissed on a technicality.

“I know there are people saying the Constitutional Court gave a verdict, Chief Justice Malaba gave a verdict to determine who should stay at State House. Every week, every Saturday in Ntabazinduna every one of my headmen give a better judgement than that. The judiciary has let us down profoundly, we are in this mess because they did not rise to the occasion,” he said.

Chief Ndiweni accused Mnangagwa of capturing the judiciary, the police and military for purposes of power retention.

He said because of a captured judiciary, Mnangagwa remains a ConCourt president, while Chamisa was the people’s president.

“Currently in our country we have a constitutional President, but here, right here, we have the popular president. In our country that is the problem that we have, and for as long as people are stubborn and do not want to see common sense we will continue to have problems. We haven’t started yet, it will get worse and worse, those issues have to be resolved,” Chief Ndiweni said.

Breaking with other chiefs, Ndiweni said he was not being partisan, but standing up for the suffering Zimbabweans who are his subjects.

Smarting from an attack by alleged Zanu PF youths who wanted to seize his government-issued vehicle, Chief Ndiweni said although he was not a political actor or player, it was his solemn duty to intervene when people were going hungry and facing serious shortages or suffering injustices.

“I come before you because that is my job to listen to the people. If the people are hungry I must stand up and do something about it. If the people cannot pay school fees I must stand up and do something about it.”

In a soft tone and composed delivery, the chief said Zimbabwean leaders had lost the respect of the people they lead and were no longer fit to remain in office.

Chief Ndiweni said he had attended the MDC congress on a fact-finding mission and was not part of the opposition party. Last year, he attended a Zanu PF conference in Esigodini, though he declared his dislike for the ruling party.