ZANU PF faces bhora musango (protest votes) in the forthcoming Gokwe-Kabuyuni parliamentary by-elections slated for 27 August 2022, a report claims.
This follows reports that the party sidelined some members of the Tonga community from voting after their names were reportedly missing from the voters’ roll for the primary elections.
One of the candidates, Manager Munkuli, who is a Tonga speaker, came second behind the eventual winner and gold baron, Spencer Tshuma, who garnered 4 336 votes. Munkuli polled 3 661 votes.
The other participants in the primary elections were Midlands State University lecturer in the Faculty of Social Sciences, Lyton Ncube, who won 220 votes and Tapera Nyoni who polled 363 votes.
Soon after Tshuma was announced the winner, ZANU PF WhatsApp social media groups were inundated by posts of anger from members.
The disgruntlement emanated from districts like Vumba, Mareka, Manyuli and Madhamu, which are predominantly Tonga-speaking.
Reports suggest that in those areas, at some polling stations voting was not conducted as registers were said to be missing while in some areas people just could not find their names.
However, Simbarashe Tumburayi, the ZANU PF Midlands provincial spokesperson, downplayed the irregularities. He said:
The primary elections went on well. There were no incidences of unfair play and the popular candidate won.
Tshuma said to the contrary, he was a victim of rigging but still won the primaries because he is popular. He said:
The allegations against me are false. Cell registers went missing in all the districts, including in my stronghold areas, and I remember at a certain polling station where I commanded huge support, five of them (registers) could not be found, meaning I lost 250 votes.
I personally got a call from one of my agents to say there were multiple voting [incidents] at a particular polling station where my rivals had bussed people, so the rigging was against me.
I have put all that behind me. I won because I had built some small dams for people for free using my earthmoving machines.
The NewsHawks reported an unnamed top party official in Gokwe North District as saying registers were pulled out in well-known Tonga areas and many voters were turned away while in Karanga-speaking areas like Chireya and Madzivazvido where Tshuma had immense support, “voters voted willy nilly.”
The Gokwe-Kabuyuni seat fell vacant after the death of Leonard Chikomba who died mysteriously in a car crash in May, 20 kilometres from his Chitekete home.
Chikomba (67) was travelling alone on the fateful day from a ZANU PF Midlands provincial coordinating committee meeting held in Gweru.
He had reportedly clashed with the Gokwe-North district coordinating committee chairperson Justice Mayor Wadyajena over the imposition of district candidates for the women’s league conference that was slated for Harare the following month.