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Blessing Karubwa
VILLAGERS in Malole B, Chetumbu area, Silengane line under Insiza District in Matabeleland South Province, have passionately reached out for help after allegedly enduring abuse at the hands of their village head, who is also threatening to chase them away if they do not comply with his demands.
Anton Msimanga was reportedly appointed as the village head by the late senior Chief, Mafu in 2016. However, his leadership has been marred by controversy, with villagers accusing him of abuse of power and intimidation.
In the year he assumed office, villagers claim they began facing difficulties, with some being beaten and others being compelled to move, giving up their priceless homes to those who had allegedly got favour from Msimanga.
Those who have attempted to voice dissatisfaction with Msimanga’s leadership have been met with threats of violence, insults, or expulsion from the community, villagers claimed.
Villagers have reportedly written petitions to Chief Dambisamahubo Mafu and Headman Nhlokotshane Mafu. Speaking to B-Metro, some villagers expressed their anger towards their leader.
In an interview with one of the villagers, Bekithemba Siziba (53), said they were pleading with the government to intervene and assist in removing Msimanga from his duties, citing his physical and verbal abuse.
“We have visited the headman and Chief Mafu more than three times, but to no avail. We have not had peace since Msimanga took office in 2016 and we constantly live in fear of him because he occasionally hits us, chases us out of our houses and then sells our houses to his people.
“As the local villagers, there are more than seven people to whom he has given land without informing us. If we ever try to give him advice or defy him, he threatens to chase us away or simply hit us.
“Since he would be yelling at us and threatening to hit us, I myself no longer go to his gatherings. It hurts so much since we can’t get any help from the authorities and we now suspect that he may have some sort of connection to them,” he said.
Siziba said when they attempted to complain about the issue of some villagers being chased away and their homes being taken, they were arrested by police on suspicion of breaking the village head’s laws. He said they were later freed as they were “found not guilty”.
“He acts unilaterally, without consulting the committee, when making decisions. We are being mistreated as villagers because he shouts at or hits anyone who dares to question or criticise him,” he said.
A secretary in the village, Trust Malunga, echoed the same sentiments, saying they were seeking help from people who can alleviate the challenges they were facing.
Instead of allowing villagers to vote and choose the village committee members, Msimanga is reportedly appointing the committee members himself. He is alleged to be working with a committee of three members instead of the usual seven-person committee.
“As villagers, we suffer from abuse and have had our voices silenced. When we try to stand up for ourselves, our village head hits us, verbally abuses us. Due to Msimanga’s numerous incidents of violent abuse, several villagers currently have court protection orders in place. He has struck roughly four villagers.
“We, the committee, are powerless to influence his choice. He appointed me to be in charge of the people. There should be seven members on a committee, yet there are only three on his committee. We attempted to allow more members to join and vote, but he declined, claiming that he was the one who makes the appointments. This leaves the committee with just three members. He does not work fairly with us,” he said.
He said they sent another petition to headman Nhlokotshane last month but that no action has been taken to address their concerns. He also mentioned that they have sent some petitions to Chief Mafu regarding the violent village head.
“We have a full report of the petitions raised during the meeting held last month on August 17. To make matters worse, Msimanga has also targeted us for reporting him. Sometimes he just shouts at us, the committee, in front of the people during meetings. Some people have been placed in the village without being officially registered. We have not put them on the register because the law does not allow us to do so arbitrarily.
“However, he continues to force us to devise plans and ensure we put them on the register, by force and any means necessary, for those who got land from him. We long for a transparent leader,” added Malunga.
Chairman of the committee, Micheck Mangena (60) echoed the same sentiments, adding that the committee was facing challenges in trying to work with what he described as “the most abusive village head”.
“We are in deep trouble. He has so many cases of assaulting people, including women. We have sent several reports to the Chief. We no longer know what to do, so we appeal to higher authorities to help us,” he said.
Another villager, Thoko Moyo (54), said Msimanga once physically abused her.
“At some point, he just started fighting me along the road and in self-defence, I ended up stabbing him with a pair of scissors I was carrying that day. At times, he would just shout at me and say that because he is the village head, he has power to do anything he wants,” she said.
Contacted for a comment, Msimanga denied the allegations levelled against him by his subjects, saying they were untrue.
“Don’t listen to those people who are complaining, ungalaleli abantu ababuswayo. They are lying. We are living very well here and everything is fine. Do you think I could do such things? They are lying. You can even ask the Chief. I don’t have the power to do all those things,” he said.
Headman Nhlokotshiyane confirmed that he has received several petitions from villagers regarding the matter. He said the issue was being addressed and promised to resolve it within two months.
“We do not tolerate dictatorship and we are encouraging villagers not to be afraid because we will resolve the matter within two months. We received their petition and a lot is being done. I also sent the petitions to higher authorities, so we are addressing the issue. Msimanga is just a village head like others, so he does not have the power to suspend or abuse others as claimed by the villagers,” he said.
Contacted for a comment, Chief Mafu said the issue was being handled by Headman Nhlokotshiyane.
“The headman (Nhlokotshiyane) is the one closest to the area and is handling the matter. Please talk to him,” he said.
Online Reporter