Former Zanu-PF leader in court over inciting violence charge

A former Zanu-PF district chairperson has appeared in court facing a charge of inciting violence following an alleged attack on the national chairperson of the Vendors4ED organisation.

Tendai Charuka, who also serves as a patron of Vendors4ED, was arraigned before the Bulawayo Magistrates' Court on allegations that he instigated an assault on Samu Jere. Prosecutors allege that Charuka mobilised three men - Tonderai Gondo (42), Raymond Muringa (27) and Nqobizitha Munyanyi (45) - to carry out the attack on January 16, 2025.

The three co-accused were arrested on the same day of the alleged assault and were later released on US$100 bail each. Charuka appeared separately before Magistrate Themba Chimiso, who remanded him out of custody to February 13, when he is expected to appear jointly with the other accused.

Representing the State, prosecutor Artwell Mpofu applied for the consolidation of the cases, arguing that all the charges arose from the same incident. Mpofu told the court that it would be in the interests of justice for the matters to be heard together so that the case could be dealt with as a single record.

Charuka's lawyer, Tinashe Dzipe of Morris-Davies and Company, opposed the application, submitting that the charges faced by his client were different from those levelled against the other accused. He argued that while the three co-accused were facing assault charges, Charuka was charged with inciting violence, making consolidation inappropriate. Dzipe also noted that his client had been summoned from his home and had voluntarily complied with the court process.

Magistrate Chimiso, however, ruled in favour of the State, granting the application to consolidate the cases. He said the matter would be treated as a summons case, noting that Charuka had been called from his residence. The magistrate remanded Charuka out of custody and ordered him to continue residing at his stated address until the next court appearance.

The case has been postponed to February 13, 2026, when Charuka is expected to co-appear with the other accused persons.

According to reports, the fallout between Charuka and Jere is linked to internal disputes within Vendors4ED, after Jere allegedly exposed the misuse of empowerment funds that had been disbursed to support vendors. Charuka's legal troubles come against the backdrop of his suspension from Zanu-PF leadership positions in 2024, amid allegations connected to disputes over vending bays at Bulawayo's Fifth Avenue and Bhaktas designated vending areas.