Zanu-PF's Shamu weeps after Mliswa verbal attack

A ZANU-PF Mashonaland West provincial co-ordinating committee meeting ended prematurely in Chinhoyi at the weekend after Women's League provincial chairperson, Constance Shamu, broke down following a clash with provincial chairman Temba Mliswa.

Mliswa also attacked Zanu-PF national political commissar Webster Shamu and secretary for lands in the politburo, Ignatius Chombo, whom he accused of undermining his position by attempting to control him.

Chaos ensured when Mliswa slammed Constance Shamu, alleging that her husband Webster Shamu, by being national political commissar of the party, made for an awkward situation.

The chairlady then interjected arguing Mliswa was now being "personal."

But, Mliswa maintained he was pointing out facts that he felt were affecting the smooth running of the party.

"This is not fair Mr Chairman. The person you are talking about is not here. I can't have this anymore. This is too much for me," she said before breaking down.

Mliswa pressed on: "You have the national political commissar and the chairlady, and you wonder are you going to work well when you have a problem with either one of them? These are some of the questions I am asking myself."

The issue followed an observation by a member that there never seemed to be communication between the two during the course of the meeting.

Mliswa then said it was a manifestation of strained relations, before adding that he was being fought left, right and centre by some members of his executive.

Earlier on, Webster Shamu had walked out of the meeting together with Senate President Edna Madzongwe, which did not go down well with Mliswa.

"The national PC (Webster Shamu) is part of the PCC and she (Mrs Shamu) is the chairlady of the province so as such they will be subject to any discussion in the province in their capacities," he said.

"Certainly, we were not happy with the conduct of some members of the PCC. I was in the chair and I thought if there was any reason to leave, he (Shamu) could have told me as the chair. He is the national PC of the ruling party who can't be seen doing that. So I registered my displeasure."

Mliswa said the province was saddled with the weight of two antagonistic centres of powers fighting for its control.

"It's pretty clear that Mash West has always been a very difficult province for anybody to run because whether you want it or not, (Ignatius) Chombo and Shamu always wanted control of the province in controlling the chairman, and I have not been that person that they have been able to control and as a result there has been disunity in the province. I will consult other leaders on the way forward," he said.

The meeting started with the presentation of reports by MPs on what they have done in their constituencies, before members started reviewing the performance of the Youth and Women's leagues and the main board.

Members were unanimous in highlighting that the executive arms were now dysfunctional with others calling for fresh elections.

Others noted that the executive comprised elected MPs who have no understanding of the party as they took up positions to consolidate their power.

"We have here young MPs who are not prepared to respect their leaders and have no passion to work for the party. They are the ones who are creating problems for you now Mr Chairman," said a member of the PCC.

Asked about his relations with members of the executive, Mliswa said he had cordial relations with them before adding that there was too much interference from politburo members, which was creating havoc in the province.

"There is interference from Dr Chombo and Shamu. You also know that Dr Chombo's brother, Nimrod, was very keen, he was also part of the elections and he lost. Whether he has accepted or not I don't know. He was quite interested in his brother assuming the chairmanship," he said.

"Some say we should go for elections. Others say let's continue and iron out our differences, but I've told them that you can't iron out differences for as long as Chombo and Shamu want to control the province personally and want to control the chairman. The problem is with those two in this province. It's always the case. With (the late) (John) Mafa it was case. It continues to be the case. It must stop at some point," he said.

Chombo could not be reached on his phone as he was to be out of the country. Shamu refused to comment on Mliswa's allegations.