News / Regional
MDC-T Ex-MP store petrol bombed
13 Mar 2014 at 15:39hrs | Views
A PETROL bomb was allegedly thrown inside a bottle store belonging to former MDC-T National House of Assembly member, Gabriel Ndebele, in Bidi village, Matobo South in a case of suspected arson.
The incident is said to have happened in the last week of February at Tshibelu General Dealers and Cocktail Bar at Bidi Business Centre.
Ndebele confirmed the incident to Radio Dialogue saying it happened at night when his caretaker was sleeping in one of the rooms in the store when he heard a loud explosion emanating from outside.
"Since it was dark, my assistant did not see anything and feared to investigate further. I rushed to the store in the morning to check what had really happened.
"Upon inspection we discovered part of the asbestos had burnt but luckily the heat failed to reach the planks and that prevented extensive damage. My assistant also climbed the roof and discovered oil remnants and shards of a bottles. I concluded it was a petrol bomb," he narrated.
Ndebele ruled out political violence saying ever since the 1990s the area had not encountered such cases.
"It must be the work of some notorious individual. The police asked me if I had suspects but I had none," he claimed.
Also, sources, however, said after the incident the former legislator informed the village elders and one of the suspected individuals was the former legislator's bodyguard who had clashed with the latter over some unpaid monies during his tenure in Parliament.
Ndebele dismissed those claims as speculation because people were trying to find out who could have done such as an act.
But in a surprising twist, Matabeleland South Acting Police Spokesperson, Inspector Christopher Ngwenya said the police did not know of such an incident.
He said possibly, these were lies as police had no detail of such an incident.
"The bottle-store in question is in fact opposite a police base in Bidi. It is just 50 meters away yet police there don't know anything related to a petrol bomb and they are always in attendance," he said.
Ndebele had mentioned one Chatunga from the police, who he claimed was the one handling the matter but Inspector Ngwenya insisted the police did not know anything.
The incident is said to have happened in the last week of February at Tshibelu General Dealers and Cocktail Bar at Bidi Business Centre.
Ndebele confirmed the incident to Radio Dialogue saying it happened at night when his caretaker was sleeping in one of the rooms in the store when he heard a loud explosion emanating from outside.
"Since it was dark, my assistant did not see anything and feared to investigate further. I rushed to the store in the morning to check what had really happened.
"Upon inspection we discovered part of the asbestos had burnt but luckily the heat failed to reach the planks and that prevented extensive damage. My assistant also climbed the roof and discovered oil remnants and shards of a bottles. I concluded it was a petrol bomb," he narrated.
Ndebele ruled out political violence saying ever since the 1990s the area had not encountered such cases.
"It must be the work of some notorious individual. The police asked me if I had suspects but I had none," he claimed.
Also, sources, however, said after the incident the former legislator informed the village elders and one of the suspected individuals was the former legislator's bodyguard who had clashed with the latter over some unpaid monies during his tenure in Parliament.
Ndebele dismissed those claims as speculation because people were trying to find out who could have done such as an act.
But in a surprising twist, Matabeleland South Acting Police Spokesperson, Inspector Christopher Ngwenya said the police did not know of such an incident.
He said possibly, these were lies as police had no detail of such an incident.
"The bottle-store in question is in fact opposite a police base in Bidi. It is just 50 meters away yet police there don't know anything related to a petrol bomb and they are always in attendance," he said.
Ndebele had mentioned one Chatunga from the police, who he claimed was the one handling the matter but Inspector Ngwenya insisted the police did not know anything.
Source - Radio Dialogue
