Zanu-PF bigwigs sweat over poor rally attendances

Zanu-PF's woes in President Emmerson Mnangagwa's backyard continue to mount, with party candidates in the forthcoming polls now resorting to commandeering traditional leaders to frogmarch their subjects to meetings due to poor attendances triggered by chaotic primary elections held in March.

Party supporters have been snubbing meetings protesting the manner the party held its primary elections which saw many bonafide members failing to vote after their names went missing from the voters' roll.

The party has been forced to call a crisis meeting that will be addressed by the party secretary for security Lovemore Matuke in Gweru tomorrow to try to bring cohesion back to the party after internal fighting resulted in some members spurning meetings.

On Friday, only 17 people attended a meeting organised by Gokwe-Nembudziya parliamentary candidate Flora Buka (pictured) that was addressed by provincial commissar Maud Ngwenya. The meeting was held at the Nembudziya Rural District Council offices to mobilise support for the forthcoming elections.

It has emerged Buka has now called another meeting today at the same venue, this time ordering chiefs to force their subjects to the meeting claiming it will be addressed by party national commissar Mike Bimha.

"Mamuka sei nhasi, muudze masabhuku vauye nevanhu vavo vose kumusangano mangwana pa council pari kuuya national PC (good morning, can you tell the kraal heads to bring all their subjects for a meeting at the council offices which will be attended by the national PC)" read the WhatsApp message that was being circulated yesterday.

Buka beat Justice Mayor Wadyajena twice in an election the latter claimed was rigged.

Despite that only five constituencies were cleared to conduct the re-runs, the party had received complaints of gross voter malpractices from over 150 of the 210 constituencies across the country, raising fears that this could be the party's worst-run internal poll in recent years.

Developments across the country show that the party was failing to quickly heal after the chaotic polls, with some members now shunning party meetings.

There has been a very low turnout of supporters at meetings called by the new candidates, forcing the party to deploy senior members to try to address provincial and district structures.

The party is also worried by the inroads made in some rural constituencies by the Nelson Chamisa-led Citizens Coalition for Change and wants to "restore party cohesion" as quickly as possible.

Matuke will be in Gweru tomorrow with the provincial chairman, provincial commissar, her deputy, the provincial secretary for security, and the top six of all the eight district co-ordinating committees and executive committees in the Midlands, according to internal communication.