COUNCILLOR ATTACKED AS TEMPERS FLARE IN BYO

BULAWAYO Ward 5 Councillor Felix Mhaka was yesterday savagely attacked by rogue youths while other councillors were held hostage at the City Hall as tempers flared over the aborted suspension of Town Clerk Mr Christopher Dube.

A clique of Bulawayo councillors led by Deputy Mayor Tinashe Kambarami “suspended” Mr Dube on Thursday after charging him with mismanagement.

Clr Kambarami and his crew’s decision to suspend the Town Clerk was however rescinded by the city’s Mayor Clr Solomon Mguni yesterday.

However, Clr Mguni’s decision did not stop some suspected rogue Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) activists from attacking some of the city fathers.

The councillors were supposed to hold a special full council meeting at 4:30pm to discuss Mr Dube’s issue.

The meeting was aborted but this did not stop suspected MRP activists, who had already mobilised their members, from attacking some of the councillors.

First, the activists barred the councillors from exiting the City Hall threatening to unleash violence.

Between 4:30PM and 5PM councillors were held hostage at the City Hall with the activists becoming human shields in barricading the building.

Clr Mhaka exited the building just after 5PM and the mob pounced on him accusing him and his colleagues of trying to destabilise council operations.

The violent youths alleged that the bid to remove Mr Dube from council was motivated by tribalism. 

They punched and kicked Clr Mhaka as he fled from the City Hall to seek refuge at the Chronicle building, two streets away.

His pair of trousers was torn on the knees as he had fallen several times during the savage beating. He told the Chronicle he was not the only councillor who was beaten up.

“About 15 councillors were held hostage by these rogue criminals who only understand the language of violence. I don’t know whether my colleagues are safe because we were scattered all over,” he said.

Clr Mhaka said those who attacked him were not a representation of Bulawayo residents but a violent group that wanted to sow divisions in the city.

He said instead of resorting to violence, the public should allow due processes to be followed where allegations are levelled against an official.

Clr Mhaka lost his car keys and had to wait for nearly an hour at the Chronicle building waiting for the situation to calm down. Chronicle

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