News / National
'Electoral Commission official received death threats from Zanu-PF'
02 May 2015 at 16:15hrs | Views
A ZIMBABWE Electoral Commission (ZEC) official was allegedly forced to reject nomination papers for an aspiring Zanu-PF Harare East by-election candidate after receiving death threats from a rival faction in the ruling party.
The startling revelations are contained in affidavits submitted by Terence Makupe who has approached the High Court seeking to overturn the decision of the nomination court to bar him from the June 10 polls.
Mukupe claimed Fiona Kurima, the Zec presiding officer, received death threats at the Harare Magistrates' Court where the nomination court sat over two weeks ago.
Kurima was allegedly forced to withdraw Mukupe's papers and replaced them with those of Mavis Gumbo who had lost the Zanu-PF primary elections.
In the application, Mukupe says after his victory in the primary elections, the nomination court sat on April 16 where he successfully filed papers to stand as the Zanu-PF candidate for Harare East constituency.
However, after completing the process, he was told he had been disqualified for allegedly submitting fraudulent documents, an assertion he vehemently denied.
"The presiding officer (Kurima) confirmed that my nomination papers were in order and could not be withdrawn in the manner that had been done, but she had received threats and her life was in danger if she acted otherwise," Mukupe claims.
"She adjourned the court at least seven times and she took phone calls from different purported political heavyweights who instructed her to reject my nomination papers primarily, the secretary for administration, Ignatius Chombo, using 3rd respondent's phone (Goodwills Masimirembwa)."
He added: "She finally indicated that the decision to reject my nomination papers was now political as she had been threatened."
The startling revelations are contained in affidavits submitted by Terence Makupe who has approached the High Court seeking to overturn the decision of the nomination court to bar him from the June 10 polls.
Mukupe claimed Fiona Kurima, the Zec presiding officer, received death threats at the Harare Magistrates' Court where the nomination court sat over two weeks ago.
Kurima was allegedly forced to withdraw Mukupe's papers and replaced them with those of Mavis Gumbo who had lost the Zanu-PF primary elections.
In the application, Mukupe says after his victory in the primary elections, the nomination court sat on April 16 where he successfully filed papers to stand as the Zanu-PF candidate for Harare East constituency.
However, after completing the process, he was told he had been disqualified for allegedly submitting fraudulent documents, an assertion he vehemently denied.
"The presiding officer (Kurima) confirmed that my nomination papers were in order and could not be withdrawn in the manner that had been done, but she had received threats and her life was in danger if she acted otherwise," Mukupe claims.
"She adjourned the court at least seven times and she took phone calls from different purported political heavyweights who instructed her to reject my nomination papers primarily, the secretary for administration, Ignatius Chombo, using 3rd respondent's phone (Goodwills Masimirembwa)."
He added: "She finally indicated that the decision to reject my nomination papers was now political as she had been threatened."
Source - newsday
