Cash-rich ex-Zanu-PF councillor funds chaos to stop district elections

FORMER Zanu-PF Chinhoyi Ward 7 councillor, Charles Mutisi has been accused of financing hoodlums to destabilise the smooth conduct of party internal elections to choose a new district leadership.

At the weekend, elections were aborted in Chimurenga district in Chinhoyi for the second time in as many weeks, amid threats of violence.

Chaotic scenes played out at the polling centre, Chinhoyi Hall l, on Saturday as senior party members continue to wrestle control of the ongoing grassroots restructuring exercise.

Elections to choose a new leadership failed to kick-off in Chimurenga district after drunken youth supporters of the two chairmanship candidates accused each other of attempting to rig the outcome of the plebiscite.

The current chairperson, Humphrey Munhuweyi and Raymond Chifura were set to lock horns in the polls which failed to ahead as the venue was turned into a battleground as supporters engaged in verbal wars, pushing and shoving.

Munhuweyi alleged Chifura had bused ineligible voters from other districts in a bid to rig the election.

Munhuweyi told NewZimbabwe.com: "We cannot allow open rigging whereby a candidate brings in people who don't qualify to vote. Chifura is running scared of defeat and is now employing dirty tactics to rig elections, we cannot allow that."

Presiding officers deployed to conduct the elections tried in vain to cool down tempers and had to leave the venue in a huff as it became evident the situation could turn violent.

Scores of dejected would-be voters could be seen milling around the venue while others sang and danced to revolutionary party songs.

Sources close to the developments say former Chinhoyi Ward 7 councillor, Mutisi was sponsoring elements to destabilise the district in order to influence the election of his preferred candidate, Munhuweyi.

Mutisi reportedly harbours ambitions to reclaim the ward and displace sitting councillor, Prosper Mavhunga, who won the seat as an independent candidate after attempts to stand on a Zanu-PF ticket were frustrated.

In the 2018 harmonised elections, Mutisi allegedly bought his ticket to represent Zanu-PF in the polls he eventually lost to Mavhunga.

A bitter Mutisi is uncomfortable with Chifura winning the district chairman polls as he would not be able to manipulate him in his bid to reclaim the ward councillor post, sources told NewZimbabwe.com.

Said the source: "Mutisi is funding all this chaos. He wants Munhuweyi to win so that he betters his chances of winning primary elections using a chairman whom he controls. Chifura, supposedly in Mavhunga's corner, seems to be having an upper hand in these elections and the chaos is meant to frustrate would-be voters. They want to make people dejected, ambush them and get victory."

Mutisi, a close confidante of embattled former Labour Minister Prisca Mupfumira who is accused of creaming off over US$90 million from the National Social Security Authority (NSSA), is allegedly using his proximity to cash to fund lawlessness in the district.

Mavhunga vowed to work against machinations by Mutisi to use money to influence voters.

Mavhunga said: "You can put it in your newspapers, l will stand firm against an unpopular person who is using money to influence voting. How do you think the party can get the wished 5 million votes when there are divisive elements like Mutisi who is causing all this confusion."

Efforts to get a comment from Mutisi were fruitless by the time of publishing.

The aborted polls were also meant to choose members of the district Youth and Women's Leagues.