Anti-Chimene demonstration flops

A DEMONSTRATION against outspoken Manicaland Provincial Affairs minister Mandiitawepi Chimene on allegations of denigrating Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa failed to take off in Mutare on Tuesday due to poor co-ordination.
Scores of Zanu-PF supporters had been bussed from various districts in the province to demonstrate against Chimene and the party's Manicaland chairman Samuel Undenge over poor governance of the province.
By late afternoon, some Zanu-PF supporters were still at the Courtauld Theatre open space where they were pondering their next move.
Social media had been awash with messages, urging people to join the demonstration which, however, flopped.
A perceived Undenge rival in Chimanimani East, Brighton Muchuwa, who is the provincial secretary for economic affairs, was accused of bussing supporters to Mutare for the demonstration.
"Provincial war veterans chairman Gift Kwageda is behind the bussing of Zanu-PF supporters to Mutare for the demonstration from Mutasa," a source said.
Chimene, who last year accused Mnangagwa of leading a faction in Zanu-PF which was trying to topple President Robert Mugabe, was not answering her phone yesterday.
But Kwageda denied bussing people for the demonstration.
"I don't want to say much about this because this is not our organ. I heard about the issue of the demonstration, but there were distortions. We had our provincial meeting at Courtauld Theatre, that is where we hold our provincial meetings,'' he said.
"There is nothing like that. I never transported people. It was just our provincial meeting.''
Muchuwa said he never planned the demonstration.
"I investigated the matter and it was coming from the women's league. There were women singing and denouncing each other at Queens Hall," he said.
"We had a meeting with war veterans over their welfare such as paying their children school's fees. It's just a misconception by some people.''