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Nqobile Tshili Chronicle Correspondent
Political woes mount for Zanu-PF Bulawayo provincial youth chairperson Cde Khumbulani Mpofu who on Monday failed to address a meeting after the party youths walked out on him.

Cde Mpofu had called an inter-district meeting to address issues affecting youths.

The inter-district chairpersons walked out on Cde Mpofu saying he could not chair meetings after a vote of no confidence was passed on him.

Cde Mpofu is facing charges of extortion and the matter is before the National Disciplinary Committee.

He is alleged to have extorted local businesses while claiming to be fundraising for Zanu-PF events.

The party’s inter-district chairpersons said Cde Mpofu was no longer their leader.

They accused Cde Mpofu of calling them bogus chairpersons.

“He called us bogus chairpersons when we passed a vote of no confidence on him. So why would he organise a meeting with bogus people? He told 12 inter-district chairpersons about the meeting when the province has 102 districts. The 12 also started leaking information about the meeting and we attended it,” said Cde Sandra Dube, Zanu-PF district 26 chairperson.

She said Cde Mpofu failed to account for the unsanctioned meeting.

Cde Dube said the chairpersons asked Cde Mpofu whether the meeting had been sanctioned by the party’s senior leadership since they had passed a vote of no confidence on him but he failed to answer.

“He failed to give us a convincing answer. He told us that he received a fax from the national youth secretary informing him to go ahead with the meeting. We demanded to see the fax but he failed to produce it,” she said.

Cde Dube said the youths had lost confidence in Cde Mpofu’s leadership.

The party’s ward 29 district chairperson, Cde Ntombi Dube, said Cde Mpofu had failed as a youths leader.

She said he was a self-centred individual who was putting the good name of the party into disrepute.

“Issues affecting youths aren’t being dealt with because of him,” said Cde Ntombi.

Cde Mpofu, however, refuted the chairpersons’ claims that they walked out on him. He said he personally called off the meeting due to poor attendance.

He said it wasn’t his duty to call meetings as this is done by the communication department.

“I called off the meeting because it was poorly attended. It wasn’t an inter-district meeting and those who claim that they walked out of the meeting are lying. They just want to use the media to pursue their own agenda. The meeting was about a tournament,” said Cde Mpofu.