Fistfight at Zanu-PF meeting

THE Zanu-PF Midlands Provincial Coordinating Committee meeting was abandoned before any resolution could be passed on Sunday following fierce misunderstanding between party members.

The meeting was convened to deliberate on outstanding issues after some irregularities were noted in last year's provincial elections in order to pave way for the election of deputy provincial chairpersons and other members of the provincial executive.

However, party leaders could not agree on the issue resulting in some members storming out of the meeting as tempers flared.

Some youth members turned violent and confronted senior party members such as Mberengwa East Member of the National Assembly Makhosini Hlongwane who had to storm out of the meeting while Dzingiso Zifungo was slapped on the face.

Senior Zanu-PF officials among them, Defence Minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs in the Midlands province, Jason Machaya, Zanu-PF national spokesperson, Rugare Gumbo and Politburo members Cephas Msipa and Tsitsi Muzenda were also present.

When Chronicle visited the venue, Zanu-PF Conference Centre on the outskirts of Gweru along the Gweru-Mvuma highway, Hlongwane was exchanging harsh words with Gelly Marongwe, a Gweru District executive member.

On the other hand, a youth league member, Simbarashe Mutukwa was being quizzed by some party officials for his violent behaviour after he allegedly slapped Zifungo on the face.

Gumbo said the meeting intended to deliberate on some irregularities which were noted during the provincial executive elections where he said most of the party members who were in the provincial basket failed to get posts in the provincial co-ordinating committee.

He said the Sunday meeting became a stalemate following some rowdy behaviour from some party youths.

"Nothing could be concluded after emotions ran high during a Midlands provincial meeting where we were supposed to decide on who should and should not participate in the provincial executive elections. This was after we have noted that most of the people who were elected into the provincial coordinating committee were not in the provincial basket," said Gumbo.

He added: "The elections were therefore deemed unconstitutional and the (Sunday) meeting was meant to deliberate on these irregularities as per the directive from the commissariat.

"The commissariat instructed us to allow only members who had been elected into the provincial basket to participate in the provincial coordinating committee meeting."

Gumbo who confirmed some violent behaviour by some party officials during the aborted meeting said those members who exhibited violent behaviour would appear before the party disciplinary committee.

He said the Midlands issue will be tabled before the Politburo for a way forward.

"The bottom line is that we should be guided by party rules and regulations. There is a need to correct the anomalies which were noted as per the directive by the commissariat. What it means is that the Midlands issue will be tabled before the Politburo for a way forward.

"Those who exhibited any form of violence on Sunday would be summoned before the disciplinary committee. As Zanu-PF we should be a united revolutionary party that does not condone any form of violence," he said.

Zifungo declined to comment when he was contacted while Hlongwane could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Machaya could also not comment yesterday as he said he was in Harare for the funeral of President Mugabe's sister, Bridget Mugabe.