Chipanga sucked in Zanu PF Manicaland youth executive

Dangamvura/Chikanga Member of Parliament Isau Mupfumi

Chipanga is being accused of coercing other youth members and lying that he had been instructed by the First Lady Grace Mugabe to remove some executive youth members in Manicaland.

In some recorded telephone conversations in possession of this paper, Chipanga tried to persuade central committee member and Dangamvura/Chikanga Member of Parliament Isau Mupfumi to use his influence to elbow out league provincial leader Kelvin Manyengawana, political commissar Washington Ziwiwi and executive member responsible for Finance Gertrude Mutandi.

It is alleged that Mupfumi refused to act on Chipanga’s calls arguing that President Robert Mugabe at the just ended national conference had called for unity and clearly instructed for a stop on divisions in the party.

Chipanga is alleged to have telephoned the provincial youth secretary for information and publicity Gibson Mupeti last month to convene a meeting to pass a vote of no confidence against Manyengavana, Ziwiwi and Mutandi.

A CD with Chipanga’s telephone conversations in possession of this paper calling for the ouster of Manyengavana, Ziwiwi and Mutandi is already circulating.

In an interview with The Zimbabwean yesterday, Mupeti said the purported vote of no confidence against Manyengavana, Ziwiwi and Mutandi was in violation of the party’s constitution.

Mupeti said the vote of no confidence is in violation of the party’s constitution chapter 4 section 266 which reads: “A motion of vote of no confidence must specify and detail the reasons thereof which reasons shall fall into categories namely incompetence/dereliction of duty, gross misconduct and disloyalty.”

According to a petition that was meant to pass a vote of no confidence against Manyengavana, Ziwiwi and Mutandi it had only seven signatures as opposed to the 26 signatures required.

Mupeti said Chipanga was using Mabuso Chinguno (provincial vice chairman), Victor Saunyama (secretary for administration), Kudzai Madhara and Tawanda Tswatswa to cause “unwarranted divisions within the youth executive, defying Mugabe’s call during the just ended party’s conference held in Victoria Falls.”

Mupeti called the party leadership to establish a disciplinary action against Chipanga and his allies.

Mupeti claimed that the four had caused “gross misconduct and disloyalty to the party”.

Mupeti added: “As youth, we want the party to be run smoothly. We have seen that Chipanga and his allies have their own agendas, they have been using the First Lady’s name to satisfy their personal agendas, which is very wrong.”

Last week the province called for a youth members meeting in the Mutare, but, only eleven members attended the meeting, with the rest absconding the meeting in protest of Chipanga’s move to have Manyengavana, Ziwiwi and Mutande ousted from the party.

Currently, the province is running on parallel structures with the majority of youth members reporting to the Manyengavana led executive while a few are reporting to Chinguno.

When contacted for a comment Chipanga refused to comment and only said: “Who has those recordings, how can I be in those recordings and can I have them.”