BY RICHARD MUPONDE
ZANU PF treasurer for ward 17 in Chipinge has been fined $200 for assaulting an MDC Alliance councillor over the distribution of presidential inputs. Lizzie Jumburu (48) of Kondo village under Chief Musikavanhu pleaded not guilty to assault charges, but was convicted by Chipinge magistrate Joshua Nembaware.
Failure to pay the fine will see her serve an alternative sentence of one month in prison.
In her defence, Jumburu denied assaulting the complainant, Ethel Taungana, who is the councillor for ward 17, by throttling her.
“I was giving out presidential inputs when the complainant approached the headman and asked him why we were giving out inputs without her knowledge. As the treasurer of the party in the ward, I was paying for the trucks that had brought the inputs,” Jumburu said.
“I feared that the complainant might take away the money and the books where I was recording the transactions. I was also holding some books and money, so how could I have throttled her?”
Taungana, however, told the court that Jumburu indeed assaulted her after she made some enquiries on the distribution of inputs.
Prosecutor, Gift Bikita told the court that on November 8 last year, Jumburu was distributing inputs at Pfidza Business Centre in Chipinge when Taungana approached her and tried to take over the process, stating that Jumburu should not distribute the inputs in her area without her knowledge.
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Jumburu told her that she (Taungana) had nothing to do with the distribution of inputs and should leave.
She throttled the councillor in the process and a report was made to the police, leading to Jumburu’s arrest.
