Zanu-PF accused of imposing Modi in Bulawayo South by-election

Several Zanu-PF members in Bulawayo South Constituency have raised concerns about the party's decision to field former Member of Parliament Raj Modi as the candidate for the upcoming by-election scheduled for December 9, 2023. These members, who requested anonymity when speaking to CITE, have accused the party of conducting a haphazard nomination process that violates the party's constitution.

The vacancy in the constituency seat, along with 14 others, occurred after the recall of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) legislators by self-proclaimed Secretary General Sengezo Tshabangu. Notably, Modi lost the seat to CCC's Nicola Watson in the August election.

According to inside sources, a nomination process took place to select candidates for the party primaries in preparation for the by-election. They alleged that Modi's popularity in his constituency had waned due to unfulfilled promises, and they further accused party officials of disqualifying other potential candidates to clear a path for Modi.

Videos obtained by CITE depict chaotic scenes during the nomination process. One source stated, "The nomination process was flawed. Modi transported people from outside the constituency to attend the nomination process. The oversight delegation rejected the nomination papers of another candidate, Archibald Siziba. This ad-hoc nomination process was blatantly unconstitutional according to the party's regulations."

"This isn't the first time the party chairperson imposed Modi. During the general election, they misled us into thinking that the party had endorsed Modi as the constituency's candidate. We only found out after the elections. Now, they seem intent on repeating the same process. There should have been two candidates, but they refused to accept the other candidate's (Siziba) papers."

The sources claimed that the announcement of the nomination process was made on Monday evening, with the process scheduled for Tuesday at 10 AM. "There was less than 12 hours to prepare for the meeting," another source explained. "It was a midweek affair, and people had prior commitments, making it difficult to change their plans. This deliberate timing was seen as an attempt to sideline the other candidate (Siziba). Modi brought in individuals from outside our constituency to the meeting and only his nomination was accepted, neglecting the other candidate."

The sources emphasized that the party's constitution clearly outlines the eligibility criteria for running for various offices. Siziba met the requirements to run for the MP office, having submitted his CV and paid the necessary fees. However, the delegation responsible for the process did not acknowledge him.

Allegations also surfaced that Siziba had faced threats to withdraw from the race after expressing his intention to run for the office. "He was even threatened before this meeting," one of the sources disclosed. "Despite submitting his CV to demonstrate his interest, he received numerous threats to withdraw from the race, which he refused. Now, they are attempting to prevent him from proceeding to the primaries because they know he could outperform Modi."

The disgruntled members in the constituency expressed their dissatisfaction with Modi's approach, claiming that he made promises of donations but failed to deliver. They accused him of using financial incentives to secure votes during election campaigns. They insisted that a different candidate was needed to regain the constituency's trust, citing this as the reason for the party's previous loss in the seat.

In response, Zanu-PF's Bulawayo spokesperson, Archibald Chiponda, dismissed the allegations, stating, "I believe you have received inaccurate information from a dissatisfied losing candidate. Zanu-PF is a highly democratic party, and we conduct Constituency Consultation meetings before primaries to gather the opinions of the people. If we had any intention of imposing a candidate, why would we go through all these processes?"