Join Zanu-PF or face eviction, ex-councillor tells villagers

A FORMER independent councillor from Insiza district in Matabeleland South province has been accused of forcing villagers to join the ruling Zanu-PF party or face eviction.

Sikhanyisiwe Nkomo of ward 23, Shangani, who recently defected to Zanu-PF, now wants villagers in her ward to follow her.

Opposition Zapu Matabeleland South provincial secretary for administration Ernest Ndlovu told NewsDay yesterday that villagers were given until last week to join Zanu-PF.

"Nkomo made an announcement that she had defected to Zanu-PF and threatened villagers with eviction or loss of their properties that include plots, residential and commercial stands," Ndlovu said.

"She told them that the properties belonged to the ruling party,'' he added.

Ndlovu said villagers were living in fear of losing their properties, adding that they voted for her thinking that she was a "new creature" after defecting from Zanu-PF, but they were surprised that she had gone back to her roots.

"As villagers, we will write to Insiza Rural District Council and Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) notifying them about the issue and ask them to declare the ward vacant," Ndlovu said.

Although Nkomo confirmed that she had found refuge in Zanu-PF, she denied allegations that she was coercing her supporters to join the ruling party.

"Why should I do that? After all, I am an elder in my church. I stood as an independent councillor after I was frustrated by the ruling party and people voted for me, but I immediately went back to Zanu-PF soon after the elections in 2018 since I was always Zanu-PF fulltime. This follows a letter that I wrote to Zec,'' Nkomo said.

She said she contested the July 2018 elections as an independent after realising that the MDC Alliance stood better chances of winning against Zanu-PF.