Ex-detainees split

Senior Reporter
The Zimbabwe Ex-political Prisoners Detainees Restrictees Association (Zipedra) has split into two factions following a dispute over the control of the organisation and allegations of embezzling over US$330 000.
Zipedra has about 11 000 members and was formed to cater for the welfare of ex-detainees and their families.
In an interview on Wednesday, the secretary general of the splinter group Cde Percy Kuzvinzwa said they had dismissed the old executive led by chairman Cde Victor Kuretu and replaced him with an ad-hoc committee to be headed by Cde Francis Kunaka.

He said Cde Kuretu and his executive, which has been at the helm of the organisation for the last 12 years, was dismissed following a unanimous decision after a meeting held on Tuesday.

But Cde Kuretu dismissed the claim. “I wish to correct a misleading statement, which was issued this morning (yesterday) by a person calling himself the national chairman of Zipedra,” he said. “This (Cde) Francis Kunaka is suspended pending investigations concerning misappropriation of thousands of Zipedra member’s funds.”

Cde Kuretu said the ad-hoc committee was a group of “attention seekers” with dubious political backgrounds. Individuals within the group were members of Pfumo ReVanhu of the late Bishop Abel Muzorewa’s party, he said.

Cde Kuretu added that a provincial meeting held recently only discussed issues to be presented at the Zanu-PF annual National People’s Conference in Chinhoyi.

But Cde Kuzvinzwa inisted that Cde Kuretu’s executive had been sacked over allegations of corruption and misuse of more than US$330 000.

“The ad-hoc committee has 22 members appointed and chaired by Cde Francis Kunaka and 21 other members drawn from all 10 provinces will represent the organisation at the Zanu-PF annual conference,” Cde Kuzvinzwa said.