News / National
Sekeramayi endure insults, heckling from war veterans
05 Nov 2014 at 06:53hrs | Views
Defence minister and Mashonaland East Province senator, Sydney Sekeramayi, addressing war veterans who yesterday demonstrated against Zanu-PF provincial chairperson Ray Kaukonde Pic Watson Ofumeli.
Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi on Tuesday endured insults and heckling from hundreds of war veterans who staged a demonstration in Marondera pressing for the ouster of Zanu-PF Mashonaland East chairperson Ray Kaukonde for alleged disrespect of First Lady, Grace Mugabe, among a plethora of other accusations.
The placards waving, foot stomping and gyrating war veterans marched through the streets of Marondera denigrating Kaukonde and his provincial executive under the tight and watchful eye of the anti-riot police.
They demanded the immediate expulsion of Kaukonde and his executive on allegations that Kaukonde had disrespected the First Lady during her ‘Meet the People Tour' in the province, abusing women, vote buying and fanning factionalism by coercing party members to rally behind Vice-President Joice Mujuru.
The war veterans stormed the Zanu-PF offices located about a kilometre outside Marondera town and demanded that Kaukonde vacates the offices together with provincial secretary for administration Peter Murwira, former councillor Charity Govere and Marondera East MP Jeremiah Chiwetu.
The demonstration at the offices coincided with an inter-district meeting that was being chaired by Sekeramayi, who was later insulted and heckled for allegedly protecting Kaukonde.
In his address to the ex-combatants, war veterans spokesperson Patrick Makombe said they were fed up with Kaukonde's disrespect of the First Family.
Makombe alleged that Kaukonde hired drunken youths who played drums at Rudhaka Stadium, disrupting the First Lady's rally.
"We are saying, as war veterans, our leader Ray Kaukonde and his executive should go… He cannot disrespect (President) Mugabe who went to war," Makombe said.
"He is a hypocrite. We trusted him with power but he abused the same power, we do not want to see them again here. His executive erred in that they realised that he had committed an offence, but they did not even write a letter of vote of no confidence or even to issue a statement, hence the executive has been caught in the crossfire."
During the rally, the First Lady openly attacked Kaukonde for fanning factionalism. At her last rally in Mazowe, the Fisrt Lady said Kaukonde was being used by Mujuru in a grand scheme to topple President Mugabe.
After the war veterans had remained steadfast in their call for Kaukonde to vacate the party offices, Sekeremayi sent an envoy saying he had heard their concerns and asked them to leave the offices. This did not go down well with the war veterans who then demanded to be addressed by the defence minister.
Sekeramayi bowed down to their pressure and his address was drowned by insults and heckling from the war veterans who were accusing him of defending Kaukonde.
"As you know, after every five years there is a congress that guides us, that guides the party and that solves people's problems. So in all provinces, we have complains, and the party will listen to all the concerns. We had a meeting here last Saturday and we agreed that our President is Robert Mugabe and that the Women's League Secretary is Amai Grace Mugabe," Sekeremayi said.
"You went to war and you know that there are sometimes contradictions but at times as one family, we will need to solve issues amicably while at times things may get ugly and you fight. But if we want to build our party, we do not have to tolerate in fighting but to talk and solve issues us amicably."
This infuriated the war veterans, resulting in their heckling him. Some war veterans told Sekeramayi that Kaukonde had also been backstabbing him, calling the defence minister names.
Sekeramayi insisted that proper procedures should be followed if Kaukonde was to be expelled.
A top war veterans leader in Mashonaland East, Phillimon Mutongi, later ordered the ex-combatants to leave the party offices but insisted Kaukonde and his executive should go.
Efforts to get a comment from Kaukonde were fruitless at the time of going to press but at the weekend, the former provincial governor and his executive got a vote of confidence from Zanu-PF's provincial co-ordinating committee.
The placards waving, foot stomping and gyrating war veterans marched through the streets of Marondera denigrating Kaukonde and his provincial executive under the tight and watchful eye of the anti-riot police.
They demanded the immediate expulsion of Kaukonde and his executive on allegations that Kaukonde had disrespected the First Lady during her ‘Meet the People Tour' in the province, abusing women, vote buying and fanning factionalism by coercing party members to rally behind Vice-President Joice Mujuru.
The war veterans stormed the Zanu-PF offices located about a kilometre outside Marondera town and demanded that Kaukonde vacates the offices together with provincial secretary for administration Peter Murwira, former councillor Charity Govere and Marondera East MP Jeremiah Chiwetu.
The demonstration at the offices coincided with an inter-district meeting that was being chaired by Sekeramayi, who was later insulted and heckled for allegedly protecting Kaukonde.
In his address to the ex-combatants, war veterans spokesperson Patrick Makombe said they were fed up with Kaukonde's disrespect of the First Family.
Makombe alleged that Kaukonde hired drunken youths who played drums at Rudhaka Stadium, disrupting the First Lady's rally.
"We are saying, as war veterans, our leader Ray Kaukonde and his executive should go… He cannot disrespect (President) Mugabe who went to war," Makombe said.
"He is a hypocrite. We trusted him with power but he abused the same power, we do not want to see them again here. His executive erred in that they realised that he had committed an offence, but they did not even write a letter of vote of no confidence or even to issue a statement, hence the executive has been caught in the crossfire."
After the war veterans had remained steadfast in their call for Kaukonde to vacate the party offices, Sekeremayi sent an envoy saying he had heard their concerns and asked them to leave the offices. This did not go down well with the war veterans who then demanded to be addressed by the defence minister.
Sekeramayi bowed down to their pressure and his address was drowned by insults and heckling from the war veterans who were accusing him of defending Kaukonde.
"As you know, after every five years there is a congress that guides us, that guides the party and that solves people's problems. So in all provinces, we have complains, and the party will listen to all the concerns. We had a meeting here last Saturday and we agreed that our President is Robert Mugabe and that the Women's League Secretary is Amai Grace Mugabe," Sekeremayi said.
"You went to war and you know that there are sometimes contradictions but at times as one family, we will need to solve issues amicably while at times things may get ugly and you fight. But if we want to build our party, we do not have to tolerate in fighting but to talk and solve issues us amicably."
This infuriated the war veterans, resulting in their heckling him. Some war veterans told Sekeramayi that Kaukonde had also been backstabbing him, calling the defence minister names.
Sekeramayi insisted that proper procedures should be followed if Kaukonde was to be expelled.
A top war veterans leader in Mashonaland East, Phillimon Mutongi, later ordered the ex-combatants to leave the party offices but insisted Kaukonde and his executive should go.
Efforts to get a comment from Kaukonde were fruitless at the time of going to press but at the weekend, the former provincial governor and his executive got a vote of confidence from Zanu-PF's provincial co-ordinating committee.
Source - Zim Mail
