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Kamangeni Phiri Midlands Bureau Chief
VIOLENCE is increasingly becoming synonymous with MDC-T elections after fresh fighting erupted over the weekend at the party’s inter-district elections in Gweru Urban and Chiwundura District.
Police arrested 13 MDC-T members, five from Gweru Urban District and eight from Chiwundura District.

The in-fighting is between candidates eyeing district executive posts which will help define the provincial executive team for Midlands South ahead of the party’s national congress.

Sources said the district elections were now threatening the provincial congress which is scheduled for today.

“Chairpersons from wards up to provincial level have been summoned to a meeting today (yesterday) whose agenda has not been made clear to us. We understand there are people who are insisting that the provincial congress should go ahead tomorrow (today) despite Gweru Urban and Chiwundura not concluding their district elections. The two districts do not have executives as we speak. We are going to resist if these guys go ahead and impose people who are not voted for as executive members,” said a source.

The five arrested from Gweru Urban are Tomson Moyo, vice organising secretary for Ward 8, Tawanda Gojo, Branch Four chairman Ward 8, Vitalis Zimba who is the director of elections for Ward 8, Moses Mukaeli, an activist, and Nkosilathi Ncube, the Gweru Urban District’s secretary for information and publicity.

They were arrested on Sunday under case number 2215003 and released on Monday after paying admission of guilt fines of $20 each.
The eight arrested from Chiwundura are Patience Banda, Luckson Mupa, Frank Chigwedere, Menard Konjera, Cuthbert Kadzirange, Edmore Chiyangwa, Lovejoy Chadenga and Lovemore Howahowa.

Seven of the eight were released after paying fines save for Howahowa who appeared in court yesterday facing a charge of assault.

“There is a likelihood that the national congress will not be held at the end of October because of the violence. Whenever we come up with a date for district elections, we end up fighting each other. We cannot go to provincial congress when two districts are still to elect their executives. Our leaders who are eyeing top posts at provincial and national level are the ones fuelling the fights,” said an MDC-T activist speaking on condition of anonymity.

Chiwundura District covers large parts of Mkoba and Senga.

The MDC-T factional fights have one group backing former Gweru Urban legislator and local businessman, Timothy Mukhahlera, for the provincial chairperson’s post for Midlands South, while the other group is backing Lilian Timveos, the incumbent chairperson.

Mukhahlera is allegedly working with Gweru Urban MP, Sesil Zvidzai, while Timveos is reportedly backed by Mkoba legislator, Amos Chibaya.

Midlands South spokesperson, James Tsuro, confirmed the skirmishes within his party in the build-up to the provincial executive.
He said: “Whenever there are elections there are some squabbles. We have received reports of disturbances at our district elections. However, it’s not true that we are going to shift the dates of the provincial congress. Our congress will be on tomorrow (today), nothing has changed.”
Tsuro could not be drawn into revealing how the congress would be held without two districts’ executives, Gweru Urban and Chiwundura.
He said his party always engaged the police to help them handle incidences of violence.

“But they (the police) don’t always rush to intervene. They tell us to engage each other and only intervene when fighting erupts,” said Tsuro.

Meanwhile, Howahowa, 29, an MDC-T activist, appeared before Gweru magistrate, Sharon Rukafa, facing a charge of assault.

He was remanded out of custody on free bail to 10 October.

Daniel Tafuma, the prosecutor, told the court that on Sunday, Howahowa and Mhondiwa Makiwa were at Mkoba 2 hall in Gweru where MDC-T had district elections.

Howahowa was manning the entrance into the hall, vetting all the people entering the hall.

Tafuma said Makiwa approached the entrance and was allowed in but instead of entering the hall, he called all the other people outside to enter.
He said this infuriated Howahowa who then slapped Makiwa three times on the face with open hands.

The court heard that Makiwa managed to free himself and ran away.

He made a report to the police leading to the arrest of Howahowa.