Masvingo City Mayor Councillor Collen Maboke filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate for the Masvingo Urban National Assembly seat after he was snubbed by the Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC).
TellZim News reported that Maboke (41), was disqualified during the early stages of CCC’s candidate selection process.
In 2018, Maboke fell out with CCC leader Nelson Chamisa after he defied the then MDC-Alliance party order to support Godfrey Kurauone as the council mayor.
Maboke went on to contest the position and won with seven votes against Kurauone’s three.
He was not recalled by MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora which resulted in many concluding that he was loyal to Mwonzora, and not to Chamisa.
Addressing a press conference at his offices in town hours after filling his nomination papers, Maboke said:
I did not receive any formal communication from the party advising me why I was disqualified and even the way forward.
I then had to go back to the people who advised me to stand as an independent candidate and they have promised to stand with me as an independent candidate for the Masvingo Urban seat…
CCC has no structures or constitution so there was nowhere to appeal my case. I then had to appeal to people who voted for me and nominated me who assured me that they will support me.
Maboke said the reason why he was not recalled by Mwonzora when the latter recalled four Masvingo urban councillors was that he had a cordial relationship with the MDC-T leader. He said:
After I graduated from University Douglas Mwonzara was my first employer. I worked for him for five years before we parted ways without any problems and started my law firm.
We had a good working relationship with him so maybe that is the reason why I was not recalled by him.
He said he was not rallying behind any presidential candidate and will not tell his supporters which Presidential candidate to vote for, adding his loyalty was with CCC, not MDC.
Maboke will battle it out with his deputy Wellington Mahwende of ZANU PF, Boniface Mazarire of MDC-T, Smart Muneri Muneri of UZA.
More: Pindula News