EG: Who is Jim Kunaka?
JK: I was born in 1980 in Murehwa in Manyange village under Chief Mangwende. I am the fifth child in a family of seven. I did my primary education at Murehwa Mission and proceeded to Magaya Secondary school. After that I went to Harare Polytechnic College to do a printing course but was dismissed for misbehavior. I don’t want to talk about that (laughs).
I work at the Harare City Council in the Department of Housing and Community Services as a Market Attendant. I am a farmer and a miner and I own a security company called Mutec Security. I currently live in Mbare.
EG: You are very young to have so many businesses.
JK: I was empowered by President Robert Mugabe.
EG: When did your political career begin?
JK: I started politics when I was very young and living in Highfield. In 2000 I came to Mbare and was incorporated into the Zanu (PF) party structures at cell level. Later on I moved into the branch where I held various positions such as Political Commissar, Secretary for Security and Chairman of the youth district. To me, leadership is a gift. At school I was even a head boy.
EG: What inspired you to venture into politics?
JK: My father is a war veteran and my mother a former war collaborator, so I was born into a family where we always talked about politics.
EG: Why have you decided to contest Kuwadzana constituency?
JK: Since Chamisa took over, he did nothing for the constituency other than bringing cooking oil and sugar to the people. We do not expect MPs to bring groceries but we expect that when they are voted into office, they come with development in the community. If you go to Kuwadzana, you find the people there are near water reservoirs but they don’t have water. The roads are full of potholes and when I look at Chamisa, I discover that the constituency is in the wrong hands. That is what has pushed me to contest that seat.
EG: How do you view your chances of winning in Kuwadzana? In 2008 you lost council elections in Mbare.
JK: My chances are very high. There is no doubt about that because the people have seen how Chamisa has failed them and they are realising they made a mistake by voting him into office. In 2008, I lost by a very small margin and this time around people have repented and have seen that the MDC-T is not a party of the people. What happened in 2008 was a protest vote because people were hungry and Tsvangirai had promised them food and when he came into government, he delivered nothing.
EG: If the people of Kuwadzana asked why they should vote for you, what would you say to them?
JK: That’s very simple. They should vote for me because they should vote for empowerment and service delivery.
EG: What kind of an election do you want for Zimbabwe?
JK: As Zanu (PF) we have been very clear from the beginning that we want a free and fair election.
EG: Is that possible considering the violence that happened in 2008?
JK: It is very possible and if I may draw you back to 2000, Tsvangirai said he would remove Mugabe from power violently. So MDC is the party that came with violence because their leader said it very clearly. As Zanu (PF), we walk the talk. If our leader says no violence, that’s what we follow.
EG: But when Tsvangirai pulled out from the June 2008 run-off, he cited violence against his supporters?
JK: That was a lie. He was foreseeing defeat; that’s why he withdrew.
EG: The MDC-T has said they want international observers for elections. What’s your comment on that?
JK: International observers? Which Zimbabwean has been invited to observe American elections? We have African observers who can come here.
‘We will never allow Tsvangirai to run Zimbabwe’
EG: What do you say about the issue of the new constitution and national healing?
JK: You are talking about this manipulated document by the so-called COPAC. It’s different from what was captured during outreach programmes and we are saying we go by the views of the people. If the people’s views are not captured, why should we accept it? We would rather go for elections under the old constitution because we are sick and tired of this GNU. On national healing it’s good but it should have started in 1980 when our forefathers were killed. Go to Chimoio, Tete, Nyadzonia– there are mass graves there but no one ever apologised for that.
EG: Then there is the issue that has created so much controversy around you…
JK: Chipangano? Why does everyone think of me and Chipangano? I want to know it this Chipangano thing is a beer hall, a shebeen or a toilet. And this year if people continue linking me to Chipangano, I will sue those papers or individuals because I am on record denying any alignment with it. I don’t know about Chipangano. I only hear about it when people like Tsvangirai and Chamisa talk about it. My belief is that Chipangano is something created by Morgan Tsvangirai and led by Chamisa. In Zanu (PF), we don’t have a structure called Chipangano.
EG: What’s your response to allegations that there are Zanu (PF) torture bases in Mbare?
JK: I have never seen them and I do not know about them. What I know is that we have district offices in Mbare. We are a well-organised party and we can’t do meetings under a tree after 32 years of independence.
EG: What is your comment on reports that Zanu (PF) is distributing market stalls along partisan lines and that youths from your party are extorting cash from vendors?
JK: These market stalls are all owned by the City of Harare and as you know the City of Harare is dominated by MDC councillors. So, how can Zanu (PF) allocate stands? When the MDC came into power, these market stalls were there and were owned by people from Zanu (PF). The MDC wanted to remove Zanu (PF) people from the stalls and give them to their supporters and they expect us as leaders to fold our hands while our people are victimised. On the issue of extortion, we don’t have such a policy. If there are any people like that, the law must take its course because we don’t have thieves in Zanu (PF) and we don’t go around taking people’s money.
EG: Let us come to the issue of the service station that was being constructed by Alex Mashamhanda near Matapi Police Station. How true are reports that you led Mbare residents to stop the construction of the service station?
JK: It’s true. As residents, we applied for that space to do a home industry where people could set up stalls and were told by the council that the land was reserved for the extension of Matapi Police Station. But when MDC-T councillors came on board, Mashamhanda was given a go ahead to construct a service station on that piece of land. So we protested because that project was going to benefit an individual, Mashamhanda.
The residents demonstrated and the city council nullified the lease agreement for Mashamhanda because there were procedures that were not followed when he was allocated that space of land. We still maintain that that land will not be utilised by anyone else without benefiting the people of Mbare.
EG: People out there see you as a vicious person. Can you briefly describe yourself?
JK: Jim Kunaka is a very nice person who likes interacting with all people from across the political divide. I am not a troublemaker but a humble person.
EG: Why do you think you have attracted so much controversy?
JK: The opposition wants to kill my political career. I am the most influential person in this province and they want to destroy me.
EG: The MDC claims their supporters are being force marched to your meetings. What is your response?
JK: We don’t have people who force people to go to our meetings. What is happening is that people are getting interested in Zanu (PF).
EG: If you were to meet Morgan Tsvangirai today, what would you tell him?
JK: I would tell him to come home; he is a lost prodigal son. He wants to take us back to Rhodesia after all the sacrifices made by our heroes so I would simply tell him to come back and join Zanu (PF). As youths, we will never allow Tsvangirai to run Zimbabwe when he fled the liberation struggle. We will never do that, we will fight.
Post published in: News