The meeting to solicit the views of villagers on the new constitution was supposed to take place at Zuwa Weaving Center in Ward 9, Nyanga South but had to be abandoned after Zanu (PF) youths became rowdy and threatened violence.
Eyewitnesses said trouble started when some of the villagers declined to have the meeting in a community hall where Zanu (PF) officials had earlier in they day held a meeting with supporters of their party.
Other villagers who included MDC-T and MDC-M supporters had remained outside the hall as the Zanu (PF) supporters and their leaders met to discuss what to tell the COPAC team during the outreach meeting.
When the COPAC team eventually arrived and decided to use the same hall for the outreach meeting, some of the villagers who are not members of Zanu (PF) refused to enter the hall because it had been earlier used by supporters of President Robert Mugabes party.
This did not go down well with the Zanu (PF) youths led by one Cornelius Nyapimbi who threatened to beat up members of the COPAC team including MDC-T legislator for Musikavanhu Prosper Mutseyami
Nyapimbi, the monitors said, nearly exchanged blows with the Mutseyami who is also the MDC-T organising secretary for Manicaland. Mutseyami was not immediately available for a comment.
But Zanu (PF) MP for Mudzi South Eric Navaya who was present at the meeting said the MDC-T legislator over-reacted which led to the meeting being abandoned.
Honourable Mutseyami nearly exchanged blows with one of the participants after there were allegations of people having been bused to the venue. He later left the venue with members from his party and some of the rapporteurs , said Navaya adding that the meeting had been postponed to another date yet to be announced.
Manicaland Province has the highest number of meetings that have been abandoned because of politically motivated violence. Only last Monday COPAC had to calla off another meeting at Bende Primary School in Nyanga after clashes between MDC-T and Zanu (PF) supporters.
Post published in: News