By Samuel Kadungure
A BLOC of candidates aligned to Cde Nathaniel Garikayi Mhiripiri won convincingly in the hotly contested Zanu-PF Makoni District Co-ordinating Committee elections held last week.
Cde Mhiripiri was voted chairman, Cde David Guy Mutasa (deputy), Cde Joseph Mujati (secretary for admin), Cde Eunice Enice Mudyiwa (secretary for women's affairs) and Gilbert Paya (sec for youth affairs).
The Zanu-PF national secretary for administration, Cde Didymus Mutasa, acknowledged the elections results.
"My wish is that the top leadership in Makoni should work together. That is where the problem is. There are divisions at that level. There are some leaders in Makoni, who felt that (the Albert Nyakuedzwa) DCC was not supportive of their interests. They felt they could not work with it and never respected it as it was not serving their interests. It is as if they wanted to personalise it, and it is not good for the party. We must support lower structures if they are to respect us. We have leaders in Makoni who are not working for the benefit of the party, but their own interests," said Cde Mutasa.
"According to the current information (Cde) Mhiripiri won. That is what democracy is all about. In every competition there are winners and losers. But winners must not boast or scorn losers and the loser should not feel as if they are dead and buried. They must continue to work for the party. If they stop, then they will be serving their selfish reasons, ungati ukadyiwa woti handichashandire musangano?" added Cde Mutasa.
Cde Nyakuedzwa has come out with guns blazing and said Cdes Mhiripiri and Mujati should have been barred from contesting because they did not belong to any party structures in the district.
He alleged that Cde Mujati was a member of the MDC-T.
Cde Mujati fought a bruising battle to be allowed to contest after the provincial committee had turned him down on allegations that he had surrendered his MDC-T membership card three months ago.
Zanu-PF Central Committee member, Cde Chipanga urged Cde Nyakuedzwa to accept defeat, reminding him that there was an end to a political tenure.
Cde Chipanga denied staging a coup against Cde Mutasa and tilting the power base in his favour, saying they only disagreed over Cde Nyakuedzwa's retention as DCC chairman.
"Cde Mutasa is our leader, not because of his age, but because of his rank as the secretary for administration. We only differed over his choice of (Cde) Nyakuedzwa for the DCC chairmanship. I told him that a Nyakuedzwa candidature would be calamitous for the district and Manicaland. Why? Because he had put the party under his corrupt thumb and since I was the one who recruited him to that position, I felt that it was my responsibility to make sure he is removed," said Cde Chipanga.
"What is true is that people no longer wanted him and it is unfortunate that Cde Mutasa took time to grasp the reality. I was supporting (Cde) Mhiripiri, yes, and how does that become a coup against Cde Mutasa. I am a man of principles, when I make a decision I stand for it, no matter what. (Cde) Nyakuedzwa can waffle, but the truth is that even if the results were to be nullified and re-runs held a thousand times, he will still lose. It does not matter if the party was going to call the likes of Kikwete from Tanzania to conduct this elections, (Cde) Nyakuedzwa will still lose. He has no support and nobody wants to see him," said Cde Chipanga, adding that his defeat was the re-alignment the party needed.
Cde Chipanga likened Zanu-PF's poor faring under Cde Nyakuedzwa's leadership to a cart that could not be pulled due to defective wheels.
"What do you do? You remove the old wheels and put new ones and see if it doesn't move. It was going to be shocking if (Cde) Nyakuedzwa was to sink without a second fight. It is totally untrue that Mujati was a member of the MDC. It was a desperate smear campaign. They thought Mujati was bankrolling the team, and his removal will lead to its collapse. It is a fabrication," he explained.
Cde Mujati had this to say: "All this nonsense is going to stop. We will not budge to dictatorial tendencies. How could they stoop so low and call me an MDC member when I declared an interest for a post?"
Zanu-PF provincial chairman, Cde Mike Madiro, refused to comment.
"How can I help you Kadungure, go to (Cde Kenneth) Saruchera."
Cde Saruchera called for calm and an end to the unfolding hullaballoo. He said the elections went on well.
"We are satisfied with the way things went. This was an internal process out of which we hope the party will emerge strong. Unity is not externally imposed, it comes from within. Individual interests must subordinate to the party's interests and vision," said Cde Saruchera.
Dr Joseph Made called for the unity of purpose among winners and losers.
He said the party needs to find its footing quickly and pull the wagon collectively behind the drift.
"It is now water under the bridge, the people have spoken and we must take heed of their call. As such, we expect the losers to congratulate the winners and work as a team for the betterment of the party. There is always another chance. Everyone should pull together and advance the vision of the party to retain seats lost to the MDC-T in Makoni. Zanu-PF interests must take precedence over posts," said Dr Made.
Senator Mandi Chimene said both candidates worked in the same capacity before and the voters merely had to compare their past performances.
"We must accept the outcome. Who are we to say no if the people have spoken? People have made a choice, leadership comes and goes, but Zanu-PF remains. The two worked in the same capacity before and it was just a matter of comparing their records of performance.
“There was no new man in the game and it was easy for the people to make a choice. There were others before him," said Cde Chimene.
The Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association chairman for Makoni District, Cde Mike Makiweni, described the new DCC as "God given."
"This was a lesson to chefs that they cannot manipulate the will of the people. If you are a leader, you should not be manipulative," he said.
Cde Makiweni also warned the new DCC against trampling on the wishes, rights and aspiration of the people.