Violence rocks MDC-T election

“I am not aware of that, but the best person to talk to is (Mr) Nelson Chamisa, who is the organising secre­tary,” he said.
Mr Chamisa yesterday dismissed the reports, saying the party did not con­done violence.
“We have adopted zero tolerance towards such unbecoming and unchar­itable acts of violence.”

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However, former MDC-T district chairman Mr Isaac Ngandini con­firmed violence at the township on Sunday afternoon.
He said it was sparked by moves to sideline the incumbent barely four months after another attempt was thwarted.
“We now don’t know why we have to choose people to fill the post when we did that just recently.
“This is the fourth time in a year that we have had to choose the Zvipani district executive. The violence is a fight for positions where people are lay­ing the ground for elevation in the event of an election,” he said.

Zvipani has been the centre of violence pitting MDC-T factions battling to control the party in the province.
Supporters also clashed during what has now been coined the “Zvipani Declaration”.
Another witness, businessman Mr Joel Mazere, said people fled in all directions while stones were being hurled.

“The meeting as far as we were concerned, went on peacefully until we suddenly saw people running in all directions while others were throwing stones. The others were retaliating and it went on until people just dis­persed,” he said.

The situation remained tense for several hours.
Mr Mazere said he had to move one of his trucks from the marauding supporters.
Mr Chambati yesterday blamed the clashes on Mr Makanyaire’s decision to hold the elections.

“We were told that the elections should be rerun as they were not conducted properly the first time.
“Unfortunately, some people had been bused in to bolster the chances of the aspiring candidate,” he said.
A misunderstanding, he said, then arose at the meeting leading to the fracas.

Sources at the meeting said Mr Makanyaire told people that he had been sent by secretary-general Mr Tendai Biti.
“They want to put people who will tow the line in the event that elections are held as the districts have the power to catapult someone into a position. They want people who will campaign for them.”

Mr Makanyaire could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Intra-party fighting in the MDC-T is believed to be driven by power struggles, tribalism and greed.
Early this year, MDC-T supporters clashed during a party restructuring exercise for the Zvishavane-Ngezi dis­trict assembly.

The skirmishes led to the arrest of Ward 8 assembly organising secretary Mr Maxwell Chipa, who was accused of stabbing district youth assembly member Mr Richard Shava.

In April, MDC-T fired Marondera mayor Farai Nyandoro and seven other supporters for allegedly inciting vio­lence during a meeting.
Violence has also been more pronounced in Masvingo where elections to choose the party’s executive were postponed several times.
Police in South Africa also arrested three MDC-T members following intra-party violence that led to the kid­napping of the party’s Johannesburg district chairman.