MARONDERA-SVOSVE - Zanu (PF) factions here are at daggers drawn. The one aligned to Provincial Security Officer, Lawrence Katsiru, accused the MP for the constituency, Tracy Mutinhiri, of sympathising with victimized MDC supporters.
The differences came to the fore when Mutinhiri recently warned Zanu (PF) thugs against perpetrating violence against fellow villagers because of conflicting political beliefs.
We cannot entertain party sloganeering at this gathering as it has nothing to do with politics. Constituency development is an all stakeholders issue and knows no political differences. You are the people who tarnish Mugabe and Zanu (PF)s image through acts of thuggery, Mutinhiri told villagers at a constituency development meeting.
I see no reason why you perpetrate violence and intimidate elderly villagers for the sake of politics. I am a mother and would not rejoice at my children being forced to inflict pain and murder other people. Those who kill others would be brought to justice and pay for their criminal acts. Also remember that murderers would be haunted by their victims vengeance spirits. This would affect perpetrators of violence not those who instructed them to kill innocent people, Mutinhiri told party thugs led by her secretary, Shepard Kaserere, who had started chanting Zanu (PF) slogans and singing revolutionary songs at the meeting.
Her remarks angered those present, who threatened MDC supporters with more terror if they did not convert to Zanu (PF). Hardliner party supporters here have since labelled Mutinhiri an MDC sympathiser and want her replaced by Lawrence Katsiru. He is a convicted rapist whose political fortunes took a dive following his incarceration for raping a 13-year-old girl in the early nineties. He was suspiciously released from prison after serving less than half of his nine year jail sentence.
Katsiru draws his small following from party thugs who terrorized MDC supporters in the run up to the sham June 2008 Presidential run-off. Observers say the thugs prefer leaders who are capable of protecting them from arrests for previous and current political crimes.
Post published in: News