Zvidzai is a past Executive Mayor of the city and currently the Deputy Local Government Minister. He Rutsvara and have all indicated to Organising Secretary Nelson Chamisa that they wish to stand for the constituency at the next election.
Sources told The Zimbabwean that Ward 4 Councillor Kenneth Sithole, who is Zvidzai’s aide, called for a private meeting in Ascot suburb last week.
“The intention was to map strategies to make sure that Zvidzai wins the heart of party members ahead of the primary polls. However youths from the Rutsvara camp stormed the meeting and physically assaulted councillor Sithole who sustained a swollen face and limping feet,” said the source.
“The conflict could have turned nasty had Sithole ordered his colleagues to retaliate. But the councillor held back his compatriots and dissuaded them from taking the law into their own hands,” another source added.
Jameson Tsuro, the MDC-T provincial spokesperson, confirmed the incident and said Sithole had since written a report narrating what happened.
“I understand John Kadamanja, who is an employee of Rutsvara, is the one who actually beat up the councillor. The matter will be dealt with internally and we condemn any acts of violence,” said Tsuro.
He refused to comment on whether Rutsvara would be brought before a disciplinary committee given the fact that he was not personally involved in the violence. Rutsvara could not be reached for comment on his mobile phone.
Last month, party youths backing the candidature of youth treasurer Livingstone Chiminya for Chiundura constituency violently disrupted a meeting organised by the Mkhahlera family at their city nightspot.
Timothy Mkhahlera, who was the first MDC-T MP for Gweru urban, is vying for the Chiundura parliamentary constituency.
During the 2008 polls, failure by the party to resolve internal differences saw some disgruntled members standing as parallel candidates in a development that split the crucial vote.
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