Mliswa causes mayhem at Zanu-PF meeting

THERE was drama at the Zanu-PF Mashonaland West Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) meeting at the Public Service Training Centre in Chinhoyi yesterday where ousted provincial chairman Temba Mliswa, refused to leave the venue of the meeting insisting he was still in charge.

The meeting which was held under the watchful eye of police officers as emotions were high, nearly degenerated into chaos as parties heckled each other, while Mliswa could not allow politburo members Ignatius Chombo and Webster Shamu to address the PCC.

In typical preacher-translator style, Chombo would read a circular outlining the responsibilities of committees preparing for the forthcoming Congress and Mliswa would read the same circular in Shona. He insisted that as the provincial chairman, he was supposed to read the circular to the PCC as he also got a copy of the same.

Even an intervention by national political commissar Shamu, was also met with some interjections as Mliswa insisted he was still the chairman.

He argued that the politburo, which upheld his dismissal from the chairmanship in the wake of a vote of no confidence passed by the provincial leadership, was still to furnish him with a letter confirming his dismissal.

"Chombo you can't go on addressing the meeting, I'm the chairman. There's no letter from the politburo which says I've been dismissed as chairman. The disciplinary committee has not sat to look at my case as announced by the politburo," he said.

Others in the meeting could be heard siding with Mliswa while some said he was disrespecting the provincial leadership by speaking while they were also speaking.

The meeting was also punctuated with slogans such as "Pasi neGamatox" (Down with Gamatox) and "Pasi neZvipfukuto" (Down with weevils) that define the party along factional lines.

Chombo went on to announce the committees as the sulking Mliswa later receded and sat through the meeting before eventually leaving as the meeting broke into committees.

The meeting was later held outside the venue as Mliswa maintained that it should not proceed.

Chombo confirmed the ouster of Mliswa, saying it was the position of the politburo.

"As of today Temba Mliswa is not the chairman of Mashonaland West . . . Ziyambi Ziyambi, the deputy Minister for Home Affairs, is the acting chairman of Mashonaland West province," he said.

"This is coming from a decision that the politburo made last week on Friday after it received reports from the provincial executive that a vote of no confidence had been passed against Mliswa who was the provincial chairman."

Politburo member Patrick Zhuwao said Mliswa was using erroneous statements issued by party spokesperson Rugare Gumbo to subvert the position of the party.

"The problem is that Mliswa is using statements issued by Rugare Gumbo to subvert the party. I've checked the minutes of the politburo and there's no such thing on disciplinary matters being frozen until after Congress," he said.

Zhuwao said Mliswa was contradicting himself by saying he wanted to appear before the disciplinary committee when he said the politburo had directed that there should be such disciplinary cases until after Congress.

He said Mliswa's case was not of a disciplinary nature as the provincial executive passed a vote of no confidence.

Zhuwao said in cases of a disciplinary nature, Article 10 of the National and Subordinate Disciplinary Committees Section 74 of the party constitution says charges should be laid out and the concerned member goes before a disciplinary hearing and a prohibition order will be issued out.

Instead, he said, it's members of his executive committee who have no confidence in his ability to discharge his duties as the provincial chairman.

"I'm tempted to believe that Gumbo is complicit in trying to subvert the process. I've no evidence but anybody who is reasonable can see that. I don't know who else he is conniving with to ensure that Mliswa illegally becomes the chairman," he said.

Mliswa refused to comment on the matter yesterday.