Mutodi, Nyamupinga draw swords

Controversial Zanu-PF parliamentary aspirant Energy Mutodi has stirred a hornet's nest in the ruling party's Mashonaland East Province as front-runners for the Goromonzi West National Assembly seat he is eyeing are annoyed by the arrival of "an outsider".

Until recently, Mutodi has indicated interest to represent Bikita South constituency in Masvingo Province where he was born and bred.

Mutodi has changed his mind and now set sight on the Goromonzi West seat where he has been openly campaigning ahead of the general election despite the fact that Zanu
PF insists that the season for contestation has not yet arrived.

His activities have since unsettled those also interested in the seat, most notably Beatrice Nyamupinga who is the sitting MP for the area.

Other prospective MPs are local businessman Leroy Murape and Rusununguko High School headmaster, Norman Gombera.

A war of words has since erupted between Mutodi and Nyamupinga as they traded unbridled verbal pikes when interviewed by the Daily News.

Mutodi accused Nyamupinga of trying to frustrate his parliamentary bid by distributing fliers denigrating him as an outsider who should go back to his home province of Masvingo.

Some inscriptions on the fliers denounce Mutodi as a "thief" in relation to his court appearance on duping home seekers by purporting to sell residential stands in 2014.

He was, however, acquitted by the courts.

Mutodi told the Daily News yesterday that Nyamupinga was behind the printing and distribution of the fliers.

He said Nyamupinga was doing so because she realised that she was not going to win and was now working to promote probable MDC candidate for the constituency, Luke Tamborinyoka.

"The papers being circulated to de-campaign me are being circulated by Biata Nyamupinga. It has since dawned to us all that Nyamupinga is working in cohorts(sic) with the MDC to ensure that Zanu-PF loses in Goromonzi West constituency.

"The MDC has also tweeted saying they are happy with the support that a sitting Zanu-PF MP, Nyamupinga is giving them to ensure that I lose against Tamborinyoka," said Mutodi.

"However, we had expected Nyamupinga to behave the way she is doing after she was linked to Mutinhiri's (National Patriotic Front) NPF party.

"My rivalry with her is not new. In 2013, I should have become the MP for Goromonzi West but I was blocked by Ray Kaukonde who was working under instruction of the then Vice President Joice Mujuru.

"Mujuru wanted Nyamupinga to win because they are related and they were working on a Gamatox project together. They came up with trumped up charges against me and I was arrested several times only to be acquitted by the courts."

But Nyamupinga strongly hit back saying she had no time to campaign against "a certain loser".

"We know that he has been moving around the constituency slaughtering cattle for feasts under the guise that he was holding celebratory parties for President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

"We all know he is misrepresenting the president. In terms of party and government hierarchy, I am the president's representative here, who is he?" she exploded.
She also denied allegations that she was behind the distribution of the anti-Mutodi fliers.

"To start with, I am not very good with computers and so there is no way I could have made those designs. I was never a part to his stands scandal for which people are demanding that he be accountable.

"I am not the only contestant here; there are many others who are eyeing the seat and these fliers could have come from any one of those, why then does he point the suspicion finger at me. I am the current MP for the area and I shall remain an MP," she said.

"I am a very peaceful person. He should just wait for the primary elections to come so that he loses resoundingly," said Nyamupinga.